Oh my gosh! Guess what!!!! In only 2 days we'll be in California!!!!! Ahhhhhhhh!! (that was a happy scream, by the way) I am SOO excited! This is trip is definitely gonna be the highlight of my school year! Everything planned sounds amazing, and I'm sure they all will be, but there are a few events that really stand out to me and I can't wait to do. Read on to find out what they are!

Okay so I have to be honest, one of the events that I am really looking forward to the most is going to Six Flags. I just can't help myself... I love roller coasters! So of course, I am SUPER excited about the roller coasters, and I'm also excited to spend time with my pal (even though I still didn't get an email back from her yet :( ) But overall, a day at Six Flags for me is a dream come true, and it's definitely something I'm looking forward to!

Another event that I'm really excited about is getting to watch an episode of "Shake It Up" being filmed. I was always excited about this event, but I'm especially excited after Mr. M invited a speaker (I can't remember his name at the moment) to talk to our class about all that happens on the set. It really is amazing! There are so many different people all with different jobs working to make a production, and it's very important that every person does their job correctly. It's kind of like the morning announcements, except on a more advanced level. But anyways, the speaker also shared that usually "Shake It Up" doesn't allow people to watch the filming, so it's a real privilege to be able to. I can't wait to see all the actors and actresses, the sound people, the camera people, and just the whole crew in action!

Finally, the number one event that I'm looking forward to is the STN Convention. I mean, isn't the convention the whole reason why we're going on our trip? The whole reason we fundraised super hard? The whole reason we devoted our weekends or Friday's to practice for it? Well, from what I've heard, it is. And I've also heard that it's amazing to be a part of and a wonderful experience. If students who've competed in it past years would rather go back to that than to Japan it has to be something special, right? Anyways, I'm just really looking forward to competing, and hopefully even winning! (Wish us luck!)

In conclusion, you can see that I am very excited for the trip. Every event is going to be amazing, as it is a huge honor and privilege to be able to go to California, but going to Six Flags, getting to see an episode of "Shake it Up" being filmed, and competing in the STN are events that really stand out to me. I'll make sure to keep you posted about what's going on once in the "golden state"!

Oh my gosh! It's so crazy how time flies by!!! It can't believe that in a little more than a week, I will be writing to you in California, because our media class will be there for the STN Convention! Holy cow!! Oh my gosh! That's just... crazy!!! I'm so excited, yet nervous at the same time for our trip, and more specifically for the STN Convention. I mean, I know that our school has a really good reputation and has always won some award, and so I wanna try really hard to meet or go beyond those expectations. I think that we have a really good movie team, that really does have the potential to win an award, but there are a few things we need to work on. Read on to find out!

So, the first thing I think we need to work on is coming up with an idea. I think we made a HUGE improvement from the second practice, when took like an hour just to come up with our idea, to the third practice when we took probably a half hour, but we can still improve. Plus, we were kinda coming up with ideas as went along, but other than that I think we did a pretty good job coming up with our idea. So, coming up wi an idea is something we need to work on.

Another thing thing that just I specifically need to work on is my acting skills. I've never been to STN before, but from what I've heard I have the idea that people go all out, and will act very crazy to win. So I really need to up my game in acting! I mean, it's not like its real, but the more believable and into character you get, the better!

Finally, I think our team can improve by just perfecting little odds and ends that make our video. Like I said, I can work on acting, maybe the camera person could work on getting really steady, clear, nice shots, and the editors could work on piecing together the video the best it could be (although I think the editors and camera person have already been doing a super good job) I also think we should work on communication, since we still aren't the best at communicating.

In conclusion, you can see that our team still has some things to work on. I know I definitely do! And to tell you the truth, I was really hoping se could have a fourth STN Practice, so we could work on it. But even though we didn't get the chance to, I'm sure we'll do great if we learn from our mistakes and continue to improve.

Haven's PSA 2013


Hope you enjoy watching my PSA! It could definitely be better, but I think it's okay. Enjoy!

Hi guys! Today has been a busy day for me! Why? Well, today is the third (and final!) time I filmed my PSA. I know what you're thinking right now. You're thinking "Wow, she actually filmed her PSA three times? The first two times must've been really junk!" And yes, to tell you the truth, they kind of were. In my first filming, there was continuity, and the second time I shot my PSA, there was really bad sound :( But even though having to have to film for the third time seems really junk, there were some positives too it. One positive thing that happened was I got to show Mr. M the PSA I made (using the footage from the first time I filmed), and he gave me suggestions on what to fix. Another positive was that some of the people who acted in my PSA had already acted in it before so they knew what to do. This made it easier (and faster) for me and them. And you know what? I'm really happy with the footage and shots that I got! I hope that my PSA turns out good because I REALLY tried to change it from good to great :) Well, I guess that's all I have left to say! Bye!!

Even though it's only my first year in Media, and not even three full quarters of the school year have gone by, I've learned many lessons. And the lessons I've learned are not just vital for the Media Productions Class, but also for life in general. I mean, isn't effective communication important? And what about learning to persevere through challenges? And isn't going the extra mile to change things from good to great a great skill to have? Well, these are all lessons that I've learned had the honor to learn about in Media, and if you're interested in learning about how I learned them and how I can apply these skills to my life, read on!

As I said earlier, one of the lessons I've learned in Media is to not only communicate clearly and effectively, but also listen attentively and carefully so that I catch all the information. With all the phone calls and emails I've had to do in media, I've definitely had a lot of time to get experience with communicating! Whether it was calling to schedule an interview, or getting information about a school for the Inside Scoop, getting across my message clearly and effectively was the key to success. However, I've also learned that listening to the other person is also important. For example, when scheduling an interview it's important to listen to the other person so that you can schedule a time that is convenient for both of you. This is also important when calling a school to get events for the Inside Scoop because you need to write down everything about the event and it's crucial that all the information that you have about the event is correct when you report it on the radio. I can apply clear communication and careful listening to life because whether talking with teachers, coaches, friends, future co-workers, future bosses, or even family, it's important to know how to communicate in a way that they can understand, and also listen to them. Anyways, the bottom line is that clear communication and careful listening is one of the many lessons I've learned in Media, and it's a very important skill to have in life.

Another life lesson I've learned in Media is to change things from good to great. This is a concept that Mr. M shared with the class, and it basically means that you go the extra mile to change something from something that has okay quality and is pretty good (but definitely could be better), to excellent and exceptional quality. That lesson is the reason why Sierra and I wanted to do another interview with Bethany that would have good sound and not just settle for the first interview with really horrible sound, and it's also why I just filmed my PSA again (for the third time!!). Just so that it could change from good to great. And even though you have to work a little harder to change something from good to great, it really pays off. I mean, because Sierra and I worked just a little bit harder and reshot that interview with Bethany and made sure our video was really good, flowed together and made sense, well... that's the reason that it aired on Hiki No. And in other things in life, like for example let's say umm, oh, here's one: applying for a job, being willing to go back and change things from good to great is a really important skill to have because anyone can do just a good job, but it's the people who go back and go the extra mile to make things great who stand out and will end up getting that job. And so you can see how the lesson "good to great" is an important lesson to use not only in Media, but in life as well.

Finally, a life lesson that I've learned in Media was to not give up and persevere through challenges. I mean, do you know how badly I felt like giving up after filming Bethany's first interview, with the sound coming out horrible? I seriously kind of wanted to change the whole topic of our news story, it was so bad! I remember Mr. M looking at our first interview and saying that the framing was really, really bad and telling the whole class to learn from our mistake (and he hadn't even heard the sound yet!) And if you think that was embarrassing, imagine how it must've felt for me to call Bethany Hamilton (who is, shall I remind you, a famous surfer who has a movie about her) and ask her if there is any way we could possibly re-interview her because there was really bad sound and a bad framing. But anyways, though I felt like giving up, it payed off to persevere, and you know what? Our story went on Hiki No! And it was all because we didn't give up :) Perseverance is a lesson that I can definitely use in life, because most things in life aren't easy, and if you give up right away, you'll never succeed, but if you keep on going and persevere, it definitely pays off!

Overall, you can see that three life lessons I've learned in Media this year are to communicate clearly and effectively and listen carefully, be willing to change things from good to great, and finally, to not give up and persevere. Hopefully, after reading this blog, you've learned too and want to apply these important lessons to your life!

Hey guys! So I'd just thought I'd write about my pen pal, who I just emailed on Friday. So far, I found out her (I'm pretty sure it's a her) name is Dylynn. I'm still waiting for her to email me back, and then I will get to know her better. Anyways, Dylynn is also Chases pen pal, and since next media class we are going to make a video about each of us and our school, and then send it to the media class at Castaic Middle School, Chase and I have worked on what we're gonna say, so that we don't mess up when it's time to film it, and end up looking stupid. But overall, I'm just SOOO happy to have a pen pal now!!!! I can't wait till my pen pal emails back!

So, as you might know, last Friday we had the second STN practice. It was definitely different from the first STN Practice for me! Way different!! I mean, I was no longer in the commercial category, I had all different teammates, I had a different job and wasn't the editor anymore, and it was my first time making a movie trailer. I do have to say though, I really like competing in the movie trailer category,  although I think it is harder than the commercial category (from my perspective) , and there are lots of things that we need to figure out before we actually compete.

One thing that we had trouble with at the STN Practice was figuring out a good, solid idea. We spent a lot of time on the couch trying to figure out what our movie trailer would be about, and I think what happened is we spent too much time trying to see all the possible options and ideas we had and which one would be the best, which was a good thing, until we started changing the idea each time someone had a new suggestion. And after that, when we finally HAD an idea and started to film, we found out that we couldn't use teachers in our video, which kind of messed our whole idea up. But anyways, next STN Practice I think it would be wise to set a designated time of like maybe 10 minutes to come up with a good solid idea (I think we should try and spend as little time as possible trying to come up with the idea), and after that, spend the next 10 to 15 minutes coming up with a shot list (that doesn't have to be in detail, but should just give us a brief idea of the shots we need to get and how long they should be) so we're prepared. After all, pre planning prevents poor performance (those were the 5 P's I learned in DARE from Officer DeBlake)

Another thing I think we need to improve on for the movie trailer is making sense. When people saw our video, they had absolutely no idea what was going on. Even I had trouble following along! Next practice, I think we need to work on making a video that the viewer can understand. I mean, in the real business, if your movie trailer doesn't make sense, who's gonna want to spend money to see the movie? And like I said earlier, I think having a script will help a lot with being organized and also reading it to make sure that it makes sense and if you were a viewer, you would understand what was going on and want to watch the actual movie!

Lastly, I think we need to work on communication. To be honest, I really had no idea what my job was (like if I was editor, camera person, or what) because my group and I hadn't communicated before. I guess this was probably because it was the second practice and only a few people changed the group they were in, so the people that were in the movie trailer group since the first practice already knew their roles and didn't think that we would need to know what to do, and now that I look back, I should of asked what my job was so I would've known before we started. And actually, I wasn't the only one who didn't know what I was supposed to do. Some people in the group switched roles which made everything mixed up and resulted in some people not having a job at all. So next time, I think by communicating and making what's happening clear in the group, it will make it much easier.

Overall, you can see that our group has a lot to improve on. However, I'm confident that if we learn from the mistakes that we made, we will be able to make a really good movie trailer, and then at STN, do an awesome job!

It's getting closer. Every day, it's one day sooner to be here. Before we know it, it will be that time. What is it, you ask? STN.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I'm kinda nervous, no, I'm REALLY nervous for STN. It's gonna be my first time going, so I'm not exactly sure what to expect. And on top of that, I'm a little worried that we won't have a good enough video or won't meet the deadline. You can read more about these challenges I will or might face in the next few paragraphs.

Like I said before, I'm kind of nervous about STN because it will be my first time attending and I'm not sure what to expect or what it will be like. Sure, the practices we've had (and will have) have helped, but I think you have to have been to the actual STN Convention before to really know what it's like and what to expect. I wonder if it will be a challenge for me to adapt to STN? Or what if I don't have a clue what's going on when we go and I end up messing things up by not being where I'm support to be or something like that?! All I know for right now is that if something like that did happen, it would be horrible, and I'm crossing my fingers that nothing like that occurs!

Another challenge that we might possibly face at STN is not having a good enough video. In previous years, I think Mr. M said that every single year CKTV has earned an award at the STN Convention! I don't know about you, but I think that that's amazing, especially since we come from the small island of Kauai. But anyways, when I compete for the first time ever this year, I really want our movie trailer to match the quality of videos that have won awards in the past and even go beyond those videos. However, I'm kind of uncertain that our video will turn out that good. I mean, in order to  have a great video, you have to have a good story, good shots, and good sounds, and well, good everything! I hope that when we compete, my team and I will be able to work together to make our video the best it can be.

Finally, when competing in the STN, a possible challenge we could run into is making the deadline. Like I said in the last paragraph, I really want to have a good video, but despite wanting a super good quality video, we also need to be wise with the time we have. With just four hours to create a movie trailer (two hours of filming, two hours of editing) every second really is precious. And if we don't really stay focused and on track at STN, things could turn out pretty bad.

In conclusion, the three biggest challenges I have about STN are not knowing what to expect and somehow messing up, not having good enough video, and not making the deadline. However, I am willing to face these challenges and I'm going to do my best so that no matter what happens, I can know I gave it my all.