Norma Echeverria

Mrs.Lazarski

Video Production

04 April 2023

NASA HUNCH Reflection Paper

At the beginning of the project, the original idea for the NASA HUNCH video was to create a
commercial for a younger audience. As the project started to come together, some things started
changing. Some scenes in the original script were scrapped and replaced with different ones.
This is mainly seen initially, but overall the project stuck true to the source material. The project
was about making NASA appealing to a younger audience because they are the ones who will
carry the future, so it was kind of to get them interested in it and explain what NASA does and
include vocational schools like PCTI that partner with NASA HUNCH who explore different
career paths to better prepare its students for the future.

During the Pre-Production phase of this project, it was hard to develop an idea. One could
choose from so many possibilities, but finding a creative way to fit it all into a 2-minute-long
video was tricky. The easy part was writing the script. The script is the base of the project.
Everything else builds from there, but finding the right person to be the face of the project or the
spokesperson of this “commercial” was somewhat difficult. Everyone was busy working on their
own projects, so it would be hard to ask someone who needed to film for their project to be in
yours. So luckily for me, Jocelyn wasn’t doing the NASA project but SkillsUSA. She so
graciously accepted to be in my project, and we managed to work out a schedule so that we both
could work on our different assignments without having to worry about the other. Jocelyn is a
fantastic person to work with and even better to film because she also has experience being both
in front and behind the camera. Hence, she also had some creative liberty when it came to
creating the video.

The Production phase of the project was hectic. The reason is that we were not in school for
quite a few days, which set back the time we could film. It was a mess, but we ended up pulling
through and being able to film the video. Granted, it did take three separate days that were days
apart, but we managed to get it done. Having to film when other people are also filming is
challenging especially when you both need to shoot in the same place to sit was good that we
were able to communicate and split the time, which did set me back a little, but it also gave me
the creative freedom to change the location of scenes which turned out so much better for the
video.

When it was time to put the clips together the first time, there was an error, and my file with all
my clips wasn’t able to be transferred to my computer, so I had to start from scratch and reshoot
everything, which turned out a lot better but did put my editing behind a bit. During the second
time, I successfully imported my clips and started editing. In the beginning, it’s fun, but after a
while, it does start to get dreadful. After staring at a computer screen for long periods of time,
my eyes started to hurt, and the motivation I had in the beginning was starting to disappear.
Having to pay attention to every tiny little detail to make sure everything is smooth can drive
someone a bit crazy. Adding the effects and everything is all about trial and error. It's boring, but
in the end, you know it is worth it because everything comes together. They intertwine and work
perfectly, and you look at your work in awe. You look at it and feel that every eye strain is worth
it just to see the final product flourish.

My favorite part of the NASA HUNCH had to be the Pre-Production. The reason for this is that I
much prefer being the one filming. Yes, editing and writing the script can be fun, but seeing what
goes where and who does what. It is so much more fun. It’s much more interactive and
personally feels like the first steps of the project being brought to life. Also, connecting with
your actors and the bloopers of what happens are always so much fun to capture. It was amazing
to see how the actors get ready to do a scene or how they react when they mess up a line or even
when something unexpected append and everyone just starts laughing; those are the moments I
like the most.

My strength would be being a better camera operator than I am an editor. As stated in the
previous paragraph, I like more hands-on things like camera use. Editing is not my strong suit,
and I know I should work harder to improve, but I do not find it intriguing. I’ll do it because I
have to, not because I want to. There are ways I can try and better myself, and I could start to use
it a bit more, become more familiar with it, and try to explore it. Not to be so afraid to mess up a
clip and start over because this wasn't what I wanted.

The program objective was to find and fun way to get a younger/older generation's attention.
This a way to spread information without boring people because now, with other social media
platforms like Instagram and TikTok, people are used to short and fun videos/instant
gratification; therefore, the video had to be captivating in order to maintain the viewer's attention.
It is effective for its genre and the targeted audience. The video transitioned beautifully from
what the idea was to the final product. There were some minor differences, but the overall
message was said in the end, and I was happy with how it all turned out.