Hey guys! I just thought it might be nice to give you an update about how things are going for our Second Quarter News Story, so here it is! So far, we've gotten two interviews- one with Bethany Hamilton and the other with Sarah Hill. I think we asked good questions, so I'm happy about that. However, Bethany's interview went really rough. First off, we didn't get that good of an angle when shooting the interview, and second off, the mikes weren't working!!! :( How weird and unfortunate is that? Especially since we checked the mikes before we left and they had full batteries. I guess there's really nothing we can do now, and the sound isn't that bad (thank goodness!) We still need to interview Noah Hamilton (Bethany's brother) and maybe Mike Coots, because Bethany said he was one of her role models. As for transcribing, we're all done transcribing Bethany (yay!) and we need to work on transcribing Sarah's interview. It's harder this quarter to work on our project because it's on a school computer that we can't take home, so we'll have to do all the editing and transcribing at school :( Anyways, I think that we are doing pretty good so far and our Second Quarter Project is off to a good start. I just hope that no more strange microphone incidents happen.

It's so funny that the blog topic Mr. M assigned for this week was about if we want to compete in the STN! The reason I say this is because last week, when I had to comment on Justice's blog, she wrote about how she was unsure if she should compete this year, and I commented on that blog. My comment was talking about how I too wasn't sure if I should compete, because I might get the way of people and create more chaos. However, I also said that if we work really hard then I think it would be really fun to compete, and it would be a good experience. And so, it will be my goal to work really hard so that I can possibly compete in the STN. If I could, by any chance compete in the STN, I would choose to do a movie trailer, and in the next few paragraphs, I'll tell you why.

One reason why I would want do a movie trailer in the STN is because I think it would be the easiest and funnest for me to do. Whenever I go to the movie theater, I always love seeing the trailers because then I know what good movies are coming out. I think the trailer is very important because it kind of determines if you want to see the movie or not. I mean, if a movie had a junk trailer, I wouldn't want to watch the actual movie that much. Anyways, if I get to compete in the STN, the movie trailer would be my first choice!

I think that I would be a good person to help make the movie trailer, because I could make it really creative. If I did end up getting a movie trailer then my team and I could try and make it mysterious and suspenseful, super action-packed and exciting, or really funny. There's a lot of different themes to choose from! I also think I would be good because I think I am good at collaborating ideas and helping to compromise ideas. In conclusion, I think that I would be a good team mate if I got chosen to help make the movie trailer.

This last paragraph is supposed to be about possible team members I would want for STN, but honestly, I don't really know specifically who! I think that everyone in the Media Class is smart and talented in their own way. I mean, after all, Media is an Honors Class. Anyways, I would definitely want someone on our team that is experienced with the STN, and knows what we're doing. It would also help to have someone that's been in Media for a few years and is very experienced with videoing. I just hope all the experienced 7th and 8th graders don't form their own groups and leave the new students on their own.

Overall, if I were to be in the STN, I would want to be a part of making the movie trailer. I think that doing the STN movie trailer would be the funnest for me because I always love watching movie trailers so getting to write and make one would be awesome. I think that I would be a good team member because I have a lot of creative ideas and am able to brainstorm and compromise well with others. I don't specifically know who I would want to have as team mates, but I know that I would definitely want an experienced 7th or 8th grader on the team. I'm so excited, yet a little nervous for the STN, and I'm going to try to learn everything I can about editing and filming so that I will be prepared for STN!

So, a new quarter in Media has begun, which also means a new News Story topic. I'm really excited about the Second Quarter News Story that we are doing, and I think it has the potential to turn out great, as long as we work really hard. So, here's our News Story topic for Second Quarter... Bethany Hamilton.

One reason that why I think doing a News Story on Bethany Hamilton would be cool is because she has such a powerful story. Like I said in by blog about my all-time favorite movie, Bethany's story is so inspirational because she chose to never give up, and not let anything get in her way. Even with her arm bitten off, she still got back in the water, and because of her hard work and effort, she was able to persevere. She's been an inspiration to so many people, and to do a story on her is so neat because she's so inspiring.

Another reason I think doing a story on Bethany Hamilton is that she's famous. I mean, I don't know a single person who hasn't heard of Bethany Hamilton. And getting to interview a famous person for our News Story... that's such an honor! It's really awesome that we get to do a story on a famous person that everyone knows!

Finally, doing a News Story on Bethany Hamilton is a good story because we get to hear her perspective. She has been so through much, so I think it will be neat to hear her point of view about everything that's happened directly from her, and not from someone else. I mean, a lot of times when you're as famous as her, rumors can go around and you're not sure if they're true. But by hearing what Bethany herself and other close people that we interview about her have to say, it will really be cool.

In conclusion, this quarter our News Story will be about Bethany Hamilton. I think that it's a neat story because she has a really neat life that many people are inspired by, she's famous, and we will get to hear her perspective on what happened to her. If we really work hard, and focus on fixing all the errors we made in our last video, it will turn out great!

Guess what? You know how every week everyone in media has been posting three blogs a week (or at least supposed to be doing that) Well, from this point on, we are only required to write two blogs a week! I'm so happy! ( not that I don't like writing blogs, but it's just sometimes hard to think up of good ideas to post) However, since we are only writing two blogs a week, we have a new responsibility to do each week, which is to read someone else's blog, and post a comment about that blog. I think this will be good because it will really make you read and see what other people in media are writing about,and give you the perspective of what Media is like for them, or what apps, or videos they think are cool. Overall, I think that writing two blogs a week and commenting on someone else's blog is a great system.

I'm SO excited! I just found this app called OldVideoPRO, and it's really cool! Basically, you when you download the app, you can either choose to record a video, or load a video. If you record a video, when you're done it should show you the estimated time to finish, and then when the video is done... WA LA! It will look like you just took the video using an old time camera! The app has three different cameras to choose from so you can choose from three different and unique looks. One way that you could use this app is if your video has a flashback scene, and you want to make sure that viewers know what they are seeing occurred in the past. You could also use it just as a cool affect. Anyways, make sure to check it out next time you are at the app store, because it's a free and fun app!

Guess what? The Fall Break ended and Second Quarter has started, and I'm ready for another challenging, yet totally worth it quarter in media!  As I've said in previous blogs, I think I did a good job for my first quarter in media, but I definitely have a lot to improve on! So, in the next few paragraphs, I'll tell you all about the three goals I have to have a great second quarter in media.
The first goal I have for second quarter is to turn in our project on time!!! We got so caught up trying to write and record radios, that we didn't really realize that our project was due so soon. We also kind of just took our time, and weren't as productive as we should have been. This quarter though, I'm really going to try to get the project done, in good quality, and get it turned in on time!
The next goal is to make sure to have NAT Sounds at the beginning of the video. What happened was, on our script we wrote down that we would have put beginning NAT Sounds of mongoose and nene geese, but it turns out, we didn't even have have shots of mongoose! Plus, we were in a rush so we couldn't exactly go back out and shoot new b-roll for beginning NAT Sounds. So, I learned my lesson and I definitely want to have beginning NAT Sounds in our Second Quarter News Story!
Last but not least, my third and final goal for next quarter is make a video that I think is really good and want to share. Like I've said before, I think we did an okay job on our First Quarter video, but it definitely was not good enough that I wanted to show my grandma, and parents, or even classmates. However, this quarter, I'm going to try to do everything to have a video that's  not missing NAT Sounds, cuts people off, has lower third spelling errors, and video shakes in it, and instead put together a flawless news story!
In conclusion, my three goals for second quarter in media are to turn in our project on time, have beginning NAT Sounds, and make a video that I'm proud of. By accomplishing these three goals, I think I'll have a great Second Quarter in media!

Today marks the second time I've worked at the Snack Shop. I was actually supposed to work another time in September, but that was the day Sierra and I had to record and edit radios, so Mari took my shift for me. Anyways, I think the Snack Shop is a neat and clever way to raise money because it's a win-win scenario for both the customers and the workers! I mean, I really don't mind working at the Snack Shop for 15 minutes once every few weeks,  and I actually think it's kind of fun. I especially like being the person at the window who gets to ask people what they want and give them their snacks. And as for the customers, I don't know a single kid who doesn't like having a nice, cold ice cream bar, refreshing juice, or yummy Rice Krispy Treat after a school day!