Storyboard

Creating our storyboard for the commercial was pretty easy. We followed the conventions used within most Dunkin’ Commercials. This was accomplished with help from the notes we took on common Dunkin commercial conventions. For example, the use of close-up shots are prominent in most Dunkin commercials. This is an effective technique as it showcases the product they are trying to sell. Their commercials are short and to the point for the most part. The commercials are aimed towards people in their late teens to early 30s as these are the people that are most popular at their stores. While creating our storyboard, we had to keep all of this in mind. 

Our commercial will be pretty basic as it will pose a problem and then will be solved by the “new product” that Dunkin will be selling. For example, in our commercial, we will have one person dropping a cup of Dunkin iced coffee and it then spills on the ground. This cup will have a straw and lid as opposed to a screw top. Then another person will walk into frame with the “new” Dunkin bottled iced coffee and will give it to the person who just dropped their cup of coffee. 

The first shot exposes a person walking while they hold a cup of Dunkin iced coffee. This shot will be a pan with natural lighting. The next shot is a medium close up of the same person dropping their cup of Dunkin iced coffee onto the ground; this shot uses natural lighting as well.

When the cup drops and the drink spills a close-up shot at eye level on the cup is shown. The lighting for this shot is dim to show the “horrific event” and progress into the brighter lighting towards the end of the commercial. This is done by transitioning from the dim lighting to the natural lighting in the next scene. 

The two shot incorporates dialogue and interaction between the two characters like a typical dunkin commercial would. A typical commercial would have a close up of the product which is exactly what we did towards the end of our commercial.

 The fifth shot is an extreme close up of the “new” dunkin bottle with a bright spotlight lighting from a low angle to make the bottle seem big and important since its the main product of the commercial. A bold text will appear on the screen to represent “new dunkin bottled iced coffee”. The text will read “try the new dunkin bottled iced coffee” in pink bubble font. 

The last shot is the logo insert of “America Runs on Dunkin’ with bright lighting and a white background to again reflect a typical dunkin commercial. 

For the last two shots, a soundtrack will be incorporated and mute the diegetic sounds to hoan in on the “new product”. In dunkin commercials sounds are typically used to represent the product which in this case, will be the fifth scene of the “new bottle”. The soundtracks used in typical dunkin commercials aren’t like most commercials. The soundtrack used has no words nor is it any copyrighted music. It is typically just a beat or a sound to focus all the attention on the product and not on the music itself. 

All of these techniques will be used to create our final commercial. 

Editing Lesson Blog

   Firstly, we learned about the cameras and tripods we will be using. We learned that the cameras are touchscreen. Additionally, the screws on the specific tripods we are using allows you to tilt/pan the camera in the shot you are filming. After learning about the cameras and tripods we are using to film with, we learned about editing. Honesty, the first time around, this was very overwhelming to learn about because the editing software we are using seemed very complex. However, after re-reading the notes I took, I think using it won’t pose a challenge in our overall production process. After we finish filming, the first thing we will do is log onto our computers. When on the desktop, right click and ”open a new folder”. This is done so we can add footage to this folder for later use. Next, we will take the SD Card, put it into the SD Card reader, and insert the reader into our computers.

   After every filming day, we will have to “dump” footage onto either a google drive, or straight into our folder, which corresponds to what project we are working on (commercial, music video, etc.). Once in our folder, we have to click the tab titled “DCIM” (this is where all the pictures are stored, labeled by date and time). On a side note, if pictures aren’t in the “DCIM” folder, they will definitely be in another folder titled “AVCHD”. Once we find our clips, we have to highlight them on the computer and drag them to the corresponding folder for whichever project we are working on. Following this, we have to start up the Pinnacle editing software. After it is open, we click the edit tab, then click “file”, then “New Movie”. To import footage from the desktop of the computer to the pinnacle editing software, click “import” tab, then “desktop”, find clips and highlight them, then click “start import”. Once all our clips are in the editing software, we will see them all raw footage. This just means it is the actual clips we shot when filming, without any editing. We then dragged our clips to AV Track 2, because this is where any film will be placed. For reference, AV Track 1 will store any titles for the production we are working on, and AV track 3 will store any music.

   To cut any clips, click the razor blade icon right where you want to cut a shot. Additionally, to undo an action in the editing software, all we had to do was click “File”, then “Undo.” Right click on a shot to change the speed of the shot. To detach audio from a clip, click on the clip you want to mute, then click “detach audio.” When creating titles, click the “T” icon, then type out the title you would like. By the way, we were able to change the color, font size, etc. Click “OK” when done making changes, and then move the title to AV Track 1. Double-click on the clip link to move the title on the actual film. For saving purposes, click “File”, then “Save movie as”, then add it to correct folder. Finally, for exporting, make sure the product is saved as a “MPEG 4” and as “SD (Best Quality).” Click “export”, then title it, then click “save.” After you click export, the film proceeds to render, which means it is making the changes you made when you were editing. Once finished, we could exit out of editing software and then send our finished product to our teacher. 

Planning Blog for Dunkin Donuts Commercial

   This is my planning blog for the Dunkin’ Donuts commercial my group is producing. We have already began discussion on how and where we will film our commercial. We need to remember to incorporate similar filming styles to what an actual Dunkin’ Donuts Commercial will look like. For example, the use of orange and pink tones in their commercials is very important in the overall production. Additionally, the use of close up shots seems to be prominent in many of their commercials. This is our plan of our production process...

   -Props: We will gather minimal props, most likely just a bottled iced coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts and a regular sized cup of iced coffee as well. Additionally, we may bring a bucket of ice water to drop the bottled iced coffee into.

   -Costumes: Costumes aren’t very important in their commercials. Everyday apparel is most likely what we will be filming in. Dunkin’ Donuts commercials want to make it look as if everyday people are plugging their products.

   -Schedule: Our schedule is already laid out for the most part. On October 15th, we will complete the storyboard for our commercial. On October 22nd we will begin the filming process and hopefully be able to finish the entire shoot in one day. Finally, on October 24th we will begin the editing process for our commercial and add any touch-ups to the production.

   -Location: We want to shoot our commercial on the track or in the field at our school as this will be perfect for natural lighting in our commercial. We will touch up the shots with an orange hue most likely, similar to what the editors do for the Dunkin’ Donuts commercials.

   -Back-up Plan: If for some reason weather isn’t working with us the day that we need to shoot our commercial, we will most likely film inside the large auditorium. Additionally, we will still be able to add a bright exposure and orange hue to the final product.

Conventions/Codes Blog

   A typical Dunkin' commercial includes:

• Close ups
• An "America runs on Dunkin" logo at the end
• Bold texts
• Bright white lighting
• Orange undertones
• Bright colors
• Voiceovers
• Dialogue
• Short and to the point
• Uses soundtrack
• Slow motions shots

This is effective for their commercials because the orange and white lights attracts potential customers. The use of close ups and slow motion shots make the commercial more dramatic in order to make their products more appealing. Bold texts allow the product names to stand out yet again, attracting the potential buyers and making the names stick in their minds. The soundtracks match the tone and setting of the commercial tying it all together. 

Introductory

    Hey, its Aidan. I'm a senior at Fort Lauderdale High School. I swim and play water polo for our school team and I am captain for both. I take some pretty rigorous classes, like AP Government and AICE Psychology. Hopefully, I can get into either UCF or FSU for college, since those are my top choices. I plan on majoring in Criminology.


    My family consists of my parents, my brother, my dog, and me. My dog's name is Cody if you were wondering. My brother and I don't have the best of relationships, but we still make it work. Obviously, I still love him though. I'm a December baby, making me a Sagittarius if you're into horoscopes.


    I consider myself a pretty outgoing person for the most part. I am often told I have a really good sense of humor and am pretty laid-back. Outside of school, I like to just hang out with friends and drive around town in my truck. I love PS4 haha. My favorite games are either Call of Duty or NBA2k. Most importantly though, I like Pina Coladas and getting caught in the rain.