CCR!!

Here is my CCR!!

CCR

FINAL PROJECT!!!

Happy Friday!!!!

Here are my three final project components!! I hope you all enjoy!!!!

Excerpt

Talent Search-Excerpt

Poster

Website

https://sophiesolarana.wixsite.com/talentsearch

Making my CCR! Reflection of project

Happy Wednesday!

Over the past two days, I have been reading the CCR questions and creating my script of answers. The questions are different from last year. I think I like these questions better than last years because they focus more on over themes and branding, and less on the physical process of creating my project.

I am making my CCR on Premiere Pro, as it is usually what I use and it is easy for me to make. I am doing my CCR as a voice over, and then putting images and videos over it. This is what I did last year and I like how it came out.

I also wanted to use this blog post to write a little reflection of my project.

The process of creating this project definitely had some ups and downs. When first planning my documentary, I was so excited to create another type of vaping documentary. I had planned everything with the administration at my school and I was all ready to go! This is a topic that I am very interested in and was excited to create another documentary about it. Then, once school was canceled and I was forced to chose a new topic to focus on, I became a little less excited to work on the project. I still chose a topic that I was interested, but I was sad that I was no longer going to be able to create my original idea. Also, because of quarantine and corona, I was not really able to leave my house to personally film my subject and get b-roll. I was left with the option of my subject filming his own interview and then sending me other footage for my b-roll. Under the given circumstances, I am happy with how my project turned out. I think that I did a good job with what I had. I guess I am just sad because last year during the creation of my portfolio project, I pushed myself so much. I worked extremely hard and learned so many new skills along the way. That project then became my favorite thing I have ever created. I had so much fun working on that project and I had such high expectations for myself this year. I really wanted to challenge myself and expand to learn new things that were out of my comfort zone. So, while im happy with my final project, I am sad that I was not able to challenge  myself in the way that I wanted to.

Done with editing!! Onto the website!!!

Happy Monday!!

Tomas sent me the rest of the things that I needed to complete the excerpt!

Before finalizing my excerpt, I was deciding whether or not I wanted to include music in the background. When I created a short documentary at the beginning of the year, I put music in the background. This made it seem much more cinematic. So, I decided to not include music since I am not really trying to go for that super cinematic look. I am trying to go for a more simplistic look for these short episodes. I am happy with my choice to not add any music.

NOW FOR THE WEBSITE!!!!!

I did some research when I first started my project and I wrote a blog post about looking at the website from the documentary Meru. When creating my website, I kept some of the things I saw in mind.

I have a lot of experience working with Wix, so making my website didn't take me that long. I knew that I wanted a simple and clean look. I also made sure to include descriptions of all of the episodes that would be in season one of my docuseries. I also used Canva to help me format some of the photos and text, as Canva has a much larger selection of fonts to choose from.

I am happy with how the website turned out!! I can't believe I just finished the third component of my project!!!! In my next blog I am going to be focusing on my CCR!!

xoxo, Sophie

Editing GRIND

Happy Saturday!

As soon as Tomas sent me all of the footage, I began editing. I chose to use Premiere Pro to edit. I know it pretty well and I wasn't really doing any complicated editing anyways.

Since I am not doing everything I wanted to do to push myself during this project, I thought I would at least try to take the time to edit the excerpt and make it a little more fancy. I took a lot of time being very specific with adjusting lighting and making sure everything looked as nice as it could. I also cropped a little bit of the frame off the top and the bottom, as this helps give it that more professional and cinematic look. 

Now, about three days later, my excerpt is basically complete! I am waiting on Tomas to send me a couple more examples of his work that I am going to add in and then the excerpt will be complete!!

It feels great to have this done so I can move on to my next step!!!

I have already started planning out web designs. I am going to start that soon and I don't think it will take me too long. I have a lot of practice.

So, until next time!

xoxo, Sophie

Filming the interview!!

Happy Wednesday!!

So, I just finished filming the interview!! I FaceTimed Tomas and then he set up his camera to record the interview. It was actually a pretty good system. I was really lucky that in this situation, my subject had a camera to film!

Here is an example of our set up. He placed his phone right behind the camera so that I could just watch what was going on the camera and make sure it was all good.

It took us about an hour to film, Tomas kept messing up! However, now that I got the interview recorded, I can finally start editing! Tomas said that he will send me all of the footage tomorrow and then I am going to start looking through it and editing it.

So, until next time!

xoxo, Sophie

Filming prep!

Happy Tuesday!!

I know I am a little behind schedule because of the virus complications, however, I plan on getting a lot done this week.

I am going to interview Tomas tomorrow via FaceTime, but I just want to do a little more prep before that.

So, the way that my episodes are going to be structured is, at the beginning of the episode there will be a longer interview with the person that that episode is about. That interview will just kind of explain their talent, some background, and how they are using their talent in their future. Then, after that interview it would go into more footage of them in action. For example, after Tomas' interview it would go into footage of him filming something and sort of follow him through the process of that.

I don't plan on each episode being that long, probably about 20 minutes each. When I was watching example docuseries I was noticing that ones with younger target audiences tended to be shorter in length. This deals with the whole idea that the younger population's attention span is just continuing to decrease. So, I think it is better to just keep each episode short and sweet.

In terms of the excerpt, I think I am just going to focus on that first interview of Tomas giving his background about his talent. Since I can't leave my house, I can't really film him doing anything, so, just having him record his interview will be much easier.

I have just bulleted a few points that I want him to get across in his interview.

• How he discovered his passion
• When he knew he wanted to continue this in the future
• Any plans for the future

I will update you tomorrow on how the interview goes!

So, until then! 

xoxo, Sophie

B-roll Brain Storm

Happy Sunday!!

So, I have been trying to figure out how I am going to structure this excerpt with the small amount of footage that I am going to have. I can't leave my house so there is no way for me to film Tomas in action like I wanted to.

I was trying to think of what else I could use, sort of as a b-roll substitute. I think the best thing for me to do is to insert examples of Tomas' work, both photo and video.

Tomas has created projects for multiple school events that I could insert into my excerpt. This can help give examples of Tomas' talent and how he is using it to build a future for himself.

Because I am such a perfectionist when it comes to these projects, it is definitely stressing me out that I am not able to go out and collect my own footage and pictures. However, I am going to try my best to use my strong editing skills to make this the best excerpt that I possibly can.

I am going to talk to Tomas and figure out an exact date to do the interview!

So, until next time!

xoxo, Sophie

Making plans with my subject!!

Happy Thursday!!

I have really been stressing about how I am going to get footage of the interview of my subject. I cannot currently leave my house and I will not be able to leave at all to film before the project is due. So, this has made gathering footage a little more difficult. I really don't want my single interview to be completely recorded over FaceTime or Zoom.

I was talking with my subject and he is going to help me out with all of this. I think what was are going to do is Tomas is going to set up his camera and then FaceTime me. So, I will be virtually asking him the questions, but it will be filmed in person.

If this works out, I think it will be great and much better than a screen recording of FaceTime or Zoom. The only drawback of this whole thing is that there is only going to be one camera recording. I won't be able to switch between two angles of my subject. However, I'll get over it!

So, I think this interview is going to happen early next week, but I will keep you updated!

So, until next time!

xoxo, Sophie

Update on poster!!

Happy Tuesday!!!

So, I stared at the poster I made for a while and then I decided that I didn't like it anymore. It was too symmetrical and I just wasn't happy with how it came out. I was looking back at some of the examples I had researched earlier and then decided that I wanted more pictures included. Just for easy reference, here is my first rough draft. 

I decided that I really don't like anything about how this looks and I needed to play around with another design. I really liked the look of the cover for the Free Meek docuseries.

I like the smaller pictures with the bigger text. So, I kind of took some inspiration from this and then created another poster design that I like much better. 

I am a lot happier with the look of this poster. I like the big and visible text. I also like that there are more images, yet they don't cover the whole poster. I think it help displays the idea of collective young talent that I am trying to portray. I also included the Netflix logo in the bottom right hand corner. As I was researching other examples, I noticed that this is a consistent thing that Netflix does with its original pieces. This is something that is important for me to include, as my docuseries is going to be distributed strictly through Netflix. However, I think it is official that my poster is complete!

So, until next time!!

xoxo, Sophie

Poster idea!!

Happy Sunday!!

I have been a little stressed out today because I start doing school online tomorrow and I am just all over the place. I think that this is a hard transition for both the teachers and students, and it is causing a lot of confusion.

However, on a little bit of a brighter note, I started playing around with a design for my poster!! Here is a design that I came up with!! I decided to stick with the whole collage idea that I saw expressed in some of the posters I was researching.

Here is the example in both color and black and white. I'm not sure which one I like better yet. Also, this is not a final product, I just wanted to play around with ideas. I used Canva to create these, which is the same program I used for my project last year. I love Canva so much and I even bought the premium version earlier in the year. One great thing about Canva is that everything I make is automatically saved, so it makes it really easy to go back and make changes or edits to old designs.

I am going to probably play around with some more designs and I will update you on that!

So, until next time!

xoxo, Sophie

Poster research!

Happy Thursday!!

I have been doing some research on posters from other documentaries and docuseries. I have been trying to focus on looking at posters that come from pieces that are someone similar to mine, but there really isn't much out there.

However, as I was doing research, I kept seeing these posters that were these collages of different photos and I really like this idea for my poster. Here of some samples of posters that I saw.

Since my docuseries is going to have multiple episodes and each will be focusing on a different subject, I feel that a collage type poster could look cool and is appropriate for my type of docuseries. Instead of just having one subject be the focus of the poster, I like the idea of including separate pictures of multiple people. I think this will help express my point that there are so many talented young people in this world and they each express themselves in a different and unique way.

Since I can't really leave my house to take any pictures of people right now, I am going to try to look for past pictures that I have taken of people. I have also asked some of my talented friends to send me pictures of themselves for me to use in my collage. 

I am going to play around with some different designs and I will update you soon!! 

So, until next time!!

xoxo, Sophie

Adjusting! First online meeting!

Happy Tuesday!

With all of the things going on because of the Coronavirus, school will be continuing online until further notice. Because of this, most teachers are continuing to teach and communicate with students through online video calls.

Today I had my first media call. At the beginning of the call my teacher was explaining how everything was going to work in terms of online school and answering any questions that we had. This was definitely helpful, as I know myself and many of my other classmates had a ton of questions and concerns.

However, after my teacher was done updating us on all of the changes and offering us some advice on how to complete out projects while under quarantine, she opened up the floor to the students and gave us a chance to talk about our projects with everyone. This was very helpful, especially since a lot of us needed help on how to adjust our ideas to fit to these changes.

Specifically for me, it was very helpful and reassuring. When deciding to change my project idea, I was a little nervous and I didn't know if I was making a good choice or not. Although, when I shared my ideas with my class, they all really seemed to like it and it gave me a lot more confidence moving forward. Because, at the end of the day, even though I am not really able to do much, I still am going to try to make this project as good as I can.

The rest of this week I am going to spend focusing on the poster for my docuseries. I have started picturing some ideas in my head, but I am going to do some research before I get to designing anything.

So, until next time!

xoxo, Sophie

Who is Tomas Quilaqueo?

Happy Saturday!!

Before I go any further into this project, I just wanted to make a post discussing who my subject is and why I think he will be a great subject for my documentary.

Tomas Quilaqueo is a senior in high school and happens to also be in my Aice media class. However, outside of school, Tomas keeps himself very busy with other things. Tomas has a natural talent for videography, photography, and editing both videos and photos.

While some people just keep their talents to themselves, Tomas has chosen to turn his talents into a lifestyle. He has figured out a way to get paid just by doing something he loves!

Tomas created short video recaps of evens put on by one of the top fraternities at Florida State University. He also creates videos for clubs at school, and photographs at the basketball games and other school events. To many people, he has literally become known as the camera man. His Instagram feed is filled with many examples of his work as well!

Tomas has also chosen to take his talent and passion to the next level as he will be attending the Savannah College of Art and Design to study film starting in the fall.

I think Tomas will be a great subject to interview. Because he knows so much about the topic and about his passion, I feel that he will be able to give great answers to all of the questions that I ask. He is also constantly working on new projects, which gives me many opportunities to get good b-roll.

I am really looking forward to interviewing him and creating this excerpt!!!

So, until next time!

xoxo, Sophie

Coronavirus / BIG Project Update

Happy Thursday!!

So, it has officially been announced that we will not be back in physical school for a while. After spring break, we will start doing school online.

In addition, I never heard back from administration and I really don't think that I am going to be able to interview them.

With almost everyone in self quarantine, I have decided that I am going to change my topic to one where I know I will have available subjects. I was sitting in my bed yesterday trying to think of a topic that was interesting to me and one that I knew I would be excited and motivated to work on.

Then... as I was receiving a call from my very talented friend, Tomas Quilaqueo, it hit me! I was going to create a docuseries on young talent. It is going to be a series where each episode focuses on a young person who has a natural talent and passion for something. Tomas also already agreed to be my subject!

The specific five minute excerpt that I will be creating is going to focus on Tomas and how he likes to express his talent. For example, I am going to get shots of him in action. Whether it's him filming, or taking pictures, or editing, that will be my b-roll.

My next thing that I need to work on is compiling a list of questions that focuses directly on things about Tomas and his many talents. I will go into more detail on that in my next blog.

So, until next time!

xoxo, Sophie

STRESS! STRESS! STRESS!

Happy... or not so happy Tuesday.


Due to issues with the Coronavirus, school for this week has been cancelled. Also, in addition to having no school, I am also quarantined in my house. This is definitely going to have some setbacks on my project because all of my subjects were supposed to be filmed during school, as they are all administrators.

Yesterday I emailed one of the administrators to see if there was any way I could still come into school at some point to film this week. I have not yet heard an answer, but I will keep you updated.

If there is no way for me to film my subjects, I will have to find new subjects to focus on. I don't really know how long I am going to be kept in my house for, but hopefully it's not too long.

Depending on the availability of other subjects for this topic, I may also consider scratching my whole idea and starting over:(.

I am still going to try to reach out and hopefully hear back from administration at my school, but I have a feeling it's not going to work out.

So, I guess for now, all I can focus on is washing my hands, keeping my distance from others, and making sure to keep myself healthy.

Hopefully I will have more information about school and other things soon!

Until next time!

xoxo, Sophie

Subject Update!!

Happy Friday!!!

Today I got called down to guidance during my second period. At first I was freaking out because I didn't know what I was being called down for. However, when I got down to the office, they informed me that they heard I was doing a documentary on vaping and were willing to be interviewed. I was really happy to hear this and we made plans for me to come in next week.

I still need to get in touch with the administration at the middle school and then I will have reached out to all of my subjects!

Now that I know exactly who I am interviewing from my school, I am going to try to create questions that are more tailored to the specific roles that each administrator plays within my school. I feel that this will help to diversify my answers between each subject and therefore give me more content to work with.

I need to try to think of questions that will make my documentary have a nice flow to it. Also, I am still trying to decide if I am going to do it like a compare and contrast style between the high school and middle school administrators.

Anyways, I will have more updates for you soon!

xoxo, Sophie

Website software!!

Happy Sunday!!

So, in the past, I have used Wix to create my websites. However, I kind of want to challenge myself and learn how to use a new software. I have the full version of Creative Cloud and one of the applications offered is called Dreamweaver.

I am going to try to play around with this application and see if I could learn how to use it well enough to create my website. If not, I am very experienced with Wix and would be happy to use it, but I just love trying to learn new software.

I have watched a couple Youtube videos that just go over the basics of Dreamweaver and teach its basic functions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKbvaPOvI84
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORV1HOSgv2Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxiySWwkk7k

These are some of these videos I watched. It looks like this software includes a lot of coding in order to create the website. I don't have much experience with coding but I am going to continue to play around with it to see if it is simple coding that I can teach myself. If not, I am fine just working with Wix.

So, until next time!

xoxo, Sophie

Website Brainstorming!!!

Happy Friday!

In addition to the actual excerpt, I also have to create a website. I have experience with creating websites in the past, so I'm not too nervous about this part of the project. However, I do want to do research on other documentary websites before I start creating my own.

Earlier in the year I watched a really good documentary called "Meru". I looked at this website to see what was included and how it was set up.

Right when you click on the website this is what you see. The background is the actual mountain, Meru. This documentary also won an award at the Sundace film festival, which you can also see right when you click onto the website.

What I really wanted to focus on was the tabs at the top. I was a little confused about what actual content to include within my website. However, after looking at these tabs, I have a better idea of what I am going to include.

About:

• overall description of series

Episodes:

• specific description of each episode

Distribution:

• places to find the series

Vaping awareness:

• vaping statistics
• how to help

Merch:

• merchandise for the series

As of now I think these are going to be my tabs. I am going to continue to look at some more website examples and I will keep you updated!

So, until next time!

xoxo, Sophie

Questions!!

Happy Wednesday!!

So now that I have decided who I want to interview, before I can actually go interview them, I need a list of questions that I am going to ask each subject.

I want to try to emulate some of the same styles from the "Explained" series, and in order to do that I am going to ask each person the same questions.

Here are some questions I think I am going to ask.

1. Name/Position within school
2. How long has vaping been an issue within schools?
3. What are some things the school does to help prevent vaping from happening within schools?
4. What are some things the school does to help prevent vaping from happening at home?
5. What is the consequence of bringing a vaping device to school?
6. Do you think vaping within schools is increasing or decreasing?

I may or may not ask some other questions based off of the answers of each subject, but these are the main questions i’m going to ask. 

I am only creating a 5 minute excerpt, so I don’t need to create an extensive list of questions. Also, in addition to the answers from the subjects, I also want to try to include statistics and little animations within the excerpt which also takes time. 

So, until next time!

xoxo, Sophie 

Subject Search!!

Happy Tuesday!

I need to start figuring out exactly who I am going to interview for my excerpt that is focusing on school administration!! I want to try to interview at least three people.

For my first subject I am going to try to see if I can interview my school principal Mrs. Fried. I know that she will have a lot of important and valid information to share and she is very well spoken. I am going to email her to see if we can set up a time for me to come in and ask her some questions.

I also want to interview someone from the security department. They deal with the vaping problem everyday at school and so I feel that they would have a lot of good answers to my questions.

Lastly, I would like to interview someone from the middle school that is right next to my high school. I think it is important to stress that the vaping problem is not only occurring in high schools, but is also a problem that is prevalent in middle schools as well.

When I was doing some research I noticed that although the percentage of middle school vaping is lower than high school, there still is a percentage, and that percentage is rising. So, I feel that it is important to get the point of view of middle school administration as well. The principal at Falcon Cove Middle School is Mr. Carruth. I am going to reach out to him and see if him or another administrator would be willing to be interviewed.

I will keep you updated on everyone's responses!!

So, until next time!

xoxo, Sophie

"Explained"

Happy Sunday!

A couple of days ago I talked about how I was told to watch the "Explained" docuseries on Netflix. In addition to this series, there is also Sex, Explained and "The Mind, Explained".

This evening I watched a couple episodes from "Sex, Explained", as well as the "Explained" docuseries. The episodes were a lot shorter than I expected them to be, but in this case it was a good thing. It was very clear that these episodes are tailored to a much younger audience. The episodes moved at a very fast pace. The episodes still delivered a lot of valuable information without going into long and extensive detail. Each subject answer to each question was shown in about five seconds or less.

The episodes also included a lot of bright colors and animation of charts, graphs, and statistics.

Including these animations and colors is just one of the many other ways that these episodes appeal to younger audiences. 

After watching about four episodes, I have a lot of inspiration for ways that I can take my excerpt to the next level and make it much more appealing to a younger audience. As I was watching, I made a list of just a couple things I would like to try to emulate within my excerpt.

In the next week I am going to focus on compiling subject questions and possibly even start doing some animation research!

So, until next time! 

xoxo, Sophie

Class Meeting!!

Happy Thursday!

Today the entire school's wifi was down. So, in media class today we really weren't able to work on our projects, but instead we got into a big circle with the whole class and had a group discussion about our projects. Each person was able to share with the class any struggles or concerns that they were having with their project and then the class was able to give collective advice and suggestions.

This meeting was extremely helpful, as it is still early in the project and many people still are not sure what to do. During the meeting, I shared my ideas with the class and asked if my classmates had any input on episode ideas and things I can do to help make my piece more unique and different than other documentaries.

I got a lot of good input from my classmates. My classmates and I discussed excerpt ideas and I may have been influenced to focus my excerpt more on the POV of the school board and how they attempt to deal with the vaping epidemic. I feel that focusing on this might give me a little more room to get different points of views from different administrators and security officers. I could also speak to authority from both high school and middle school. I feel like it would be a lot less repetitive than focusing on parents.

A couple of people also gave me the suggestion on focusing on the POV of health professionals and what they think about the epidemic. I like this idea but I feel that it is a lot harder to execute than the one with school officials. I am going to think more about the school officials one and try to compose a list of questions that I could ask.

I was also told to watch the "Explained" series on Netflix. This series creates relatively short episodes that focus on a range of topics. I plan on watching these later this week and I will probably create a separate blog post that focuses just on me analyzing the series.

So, until next time!

xoxo, Sophie

Monday Madness!

Happy Monday!

I have of things to get done this week!! Today I want to be done compiling a list of episode ideas. I have been doing more research on documentaries and docuseries that already exist about the vaping topic and topics similar to vaping. I have decided that five episodes is going to be a good amount for me to think of.

I think that for the episode that I actually film the excerpt from I want to focus on the point of views of parents and what they think about this vaping epidemic. For my documentary at the beginning of the year, I focused on two teenagers and their experiences with vaping. I felt that focusing on teenagers who have personally been affected by the effects of vaping was very powerful and really showed how serious this problem is. Here is a link to my documentary if you want to take a look! https://youtu.be/olPmSP8xsx8

I was really happy with how the interviews with the two teenagers went, but I am also looking forward to seeing a different point of view. I feel that by interviewing parents I am able to see an outsiders view on the issue. I plan on reading the parents some statistics and quotes from teenagers who vape and having the parents discuss how they feel about them.

As for the other episodes, I have compiled a list of other ideas.

• Vaping epidemic- POV of school administration
• Vaping epidemic- POV of medical professionals
• Behind the scenes with CEO of Juul
• Vaping epidemic- POV of people personally affected by vaping (in hospital or people who have lost loved ones)

These are just potential ideas. I do not have to actually produce these episodes so I have a little more room with creativity and abstract ideas. 

So, that's all for today! Throughout the week I plan on researching and gathering more information for the excerpt. 

xoxo. Sophie

Schedule Time!

Happy Sunday!

I just wanted to pop in and write a quick post to show you the schedule I created for this project. This project is much bigger than last year and has more components to it, so I really need to make sure I manage my time wisely. In order to help myself stay on track, I made this schedule. I don't need to adhere to it perfectly, but I plan on using it as a guideline to make sure I will get everything done before the due date.

I really think that this schedule will help me stay on track throughout the next few weeks. I will probably make changes to this as I move through the project, but you have to start somewhere!

So, until next time.

xoxo, Sophie

Topic Research!

Happy Friday!

In my last post I started talking about what I wanted to do for my docuseries topic. I have been thinking about it some more and I really like the idea of continuing this idea of vaping. I am really passionate about the topic and I feel that when I am passionate about the topic, I am more motivated and interested in creating the piece.

Although I am going to focus on vaping, I do not plan on making any of the episodes the same as what I created for my documentary project earlier in the year. I plan on doing a lot of research to try and see what new stories and information I can share about the epidemic of vaping.

Since it is a docuseries, I will have to think of ideas for multiple episodes. I only have to create an excerpt from one of the episodes, but I still have to write descriptions of all of the episodes on the website.

I have been doing some research and I am thinking of trying to create an episode on the views of parents, and how they feel about the vaping epidemic. I am very curious about how parents feel about the epidemic. I also want to possibly read some statistics and quotes from teenagers who vape and I want to hear the reactions from parents.

I am going to continue researching what is already out there about vaping and see if anything I read or watch sparks any ideas for things that I can create. I really love doing research and trying to learn new things about topics that interest me. Over the next few days I am going to try to compile a list of 5 ideas relating to vaping that could potentially be an episode in my docuseries. 

So, until next time!

xoxo, Sophie

It's That Time of Year Again!

Wow! I really can't believe that it's that time of year already! It's time to start my portfolio project! I really feel like it was just yesterday that I was working on my magazine spread for my AS level project. Working on that project was so stressful but also so fun and I was so proud of how it turned out. So, this year I am so excited to work so hard again and produce something that I am so proud of.

Last year my project was solely a print component,  but this year in A level, my project is made up of digital, video, and print components. I am so excited to challenge myself with these new mediums. I will be completing the documentary project, which includes a 5 minute excerpt from an original docuseries, a website, and a poster.

I've started doing some research on what docuseries I want to make. Earlier this year I created a short documentary about the epidemic of vaping and how much it is affecting the teen population. I am really passionate about this topic and enjoyed creating a documentary about it. I have been brainstorming some ideas for my docuseries that kind of continue on this vaping epidemic path. I feel that there are so many different ways that I could approach this topic. I am going to continue doing research on the topic and if I feel that I could make a solid docuseries then I will make that my official topic.

Later this week I am going to post more about my topic choice and I am also going to compose a schedule that I hope to adhere to throughout this process. So, until next time!

xoxo, Sophie

My Marketing Campaign

Hii!!

I recently completed a marketing campaign project in class. For this project, I chose to create a marketing campaign for Wonder Paws Rescue, a local animal rescue.

Before creating my actual marketing campaign, I researched some marketing strategies of two other pet rescues. I gathered information from Good Karma Pet Rescue, as well as Hope For Paws. Both of these rescues offered valuable information that influenced things that I created in my marketing campaign. 

I then assessed and made a list of all of the components I wanted to include within my campaign. Some of the things I covered were, multiple print components, ways to improve social media, merchandise, and a website. I created my campaign for a target audience of moms. With this I tried to make everything from my logo to my t-shirts things that I think would appeal to this target audience.

For my print components I created a flyer, a certificate of adoption, and a business card. As you can see, all of these components have very similar styles, colors, and fonts.

I enjoyed making all of the components of my campaign, but my favorite part was where I discussed SEO, or search engine optimization. This is something that I have prior experience with and I felt that it was a very important thing to include within my campaign. Search engine optimization is basically the process of making a website appear closer to the top when searched on a search engine. For example, if I searched "pet rescue" on Google, the first websites to come up have greater search engine optimization. I created a whole section of my campaign devoted to discussing how one can increase the search engine optimization of a website. I think that this information is especially useful to an organization like Wonder Paws Rescue, as they are still newly developing and can really benefit from a tool like this. 

Overall, this project was very challenging, but it was also a great tool to help me prepare for what I want to do in the future. This project also helped me to prepare for my portfolio project. This marketing project had many different components, much like the portfolio project does. So, I had to very carefully manage my time to make sure that I had enough time to thoroughly complete every component. This was good practice for how I will have to manage my time for the portfolio project. This marketing project also helped me to expand my knowledge on different target audiences, which will be useful when creating my documentary for my portfolio project. 

So anyways, there's a little recap of what I have been working on!! I can't wait to start the process of creating my portfolio project!!

XOXO, Sophie

The Transition

Hi everyone!!

It's officially my second semester of my senior year! Last year I was in the AS level media class, but this year I moved onto the A level. When I was signing up for this class last year, I was a little nervous. I really enjoyed the AS level, but I didn't know what to expect from the A level. Now, a semester later, I can definitely say that I love A level even more than AS.

During the AS level there were a lot more powerpoints and note taking. This is obviously necessary in order to learn the proper techniques and information, but I would get tired at times. Although, during A level I find that it is much more project based. For me, I enjoy this a lot more as I think it is a great way for me to get hands on practice and feedback from my classmates. It is also a great way to build a portfolio. For example, I want to go into marketing in the future, so the marketing project that I recently completed is great for me to add to my collection of work.

I am so excited to continue working on all of the projects that will be assigned throughout the rest of the year, including the documentary that I will be completing for my end-of-the-year portfolio project. I will be documenting that process on this blog so get excited!!

Have a super duper fun and fantastic day:)

XOXO, Sophie