I’m back! And I have an idea for my next Genius Hour.

I’ll tell you how I thought of it. (Ahem.) It started at my grandma’s house. Me and my sister were making jam with my grandma. She’s really good at making delicious jams. Strawberry jam, saskatoon jam, plum jam, anything in her garden. This time, we were making a rhubarb, saskatoon, cherry, and honeyberry jam all in one. We put all the fruit in a large bowl, dumped in some sugar, and left it overnight. The next day, we boiled the mixture and let it cool. Then we poured it into jars. My grandma let me and my sister scoop the excess jam off the edge of the bowl and eat it. As I scooped, the jam cooled, and became sweet, sticky goop. It tasted like CANDY.

No, I’m not going to make jam. I am going to learn how to make my own candy. The story doesn’t really match my idea but it gave me the idea. The spark.

I want to make chocolate, something sour, and gummies, one with a gel filling. Yes, it will be difficult. Yes, I will have to buy things. Yes, I will have to actually go places this time. But I already have a lovely taste tester for my creations. I promised myself that I would not copy other recipes, only look at some for ideas. Tell me what you think. Wish me luck!

Well, I did it. I have achieved everything I wanted to achieve. I’m back in the habit of guitar, I have more confidence, and I’m trying to make more music on my own in my free time.
I had a professional to speak with, and even though he knew my parents, he still gave me the professional help I needed. I learned a lot about confidence and putting myself out there. Literally putting myself out there, I went outside to record.
I’m really happy that I had the nerves to show my video in front of my junior high class. Let me tell you, it was scary! But I’m satisfied with what I did, so that’s that.

I think I already have an idea for next genius hour, but that’s for another time. Until then!

Alright, people! This is my last week to finish my masterpiece! Well, maybe not a masterpiece, there are some flaws.
I only have a little filming left to do, and editing doesn’t really take long. I’m not that concerned about finishing up. I am concerned, however, on the final piece. As I learn how to make music, film, and edit, I keep on thinking that it has to be perfect. I don’t have the special animation editing or the echoes and percussion in other songs. I feel like there cannot be any flaws in it. But I know that there will be flaws, and I have to accept that.

Anyways, back to progress. I am almost done with my filming, and let me tell you: it was so EMBARRASSING. I had to film outside in a summer dress to get that “dream” effect. But there was this little boy staring at me and my sister, and when we looked over at him, he ran away. Two minutes later he came back.

So yeah, here I am. I will see you in one week with the product. See you then.

Okay, I finished the layout.

Now I’m actually getting out of my stalling laziness and filming my video. My little sister Teagan is going to help me. I hope she has the ability to do this. If the video looks bad, blame her.
There are three characters in the song: Guitar me, Pyjama Me, and Dream Me. Dream me has a scene to do something outside in a summer dress. Ugh, wish me luck.

This week was pretty uneventful and so will next week because I’m going to a camp on the weekend.
Now is the time I should film most of my video. I’m currently making the script so I have an idea on what I should do for each verse.
Also, while I was packing for camp, I found this cool thing I can do with my flashlight. Check it out:

That definitely going in the video!

I have contacted my expert! He is also a friend of my parents, so they approved. The meeting wasn’t long, but I learned about silhouettes and editing shots and other stuff.

I am trying to make some of the video more pleasant. My song’s not necessarily the jolliest tune to hear. I think I’m going to add more “effects” to the music to make it more intense near the end. It needs a buildup like a story.

I’m debating if I should dance in the video. I’ve seen music videos where the singer dances. But there are other videos where they don’t dance. But also my procreate’s not working so I’ll have to use my sister’s.

I am now making a video to go with my song. Last Tuesday I took random pictures of stuff, but they look kind of decent:

And those are just a few 🙂 .

I finished the song.

Now I can move on to phase 2: make a music video. I will contact some videographers for my professionals, after my parents’ permission. I can probably start by filming some things that might possibly be good for the video.

I have T-minus five weeks left! I might be a little-teensy-tiny-bit worried that I won’t get this video done, so I will work EXTRA hard on it.

A big question: do I want percussion? The answer, yes. Another question: what should I use, I don’t have a drum set. The answer, I improvise. I am going to use the wood of my guitar to get a good sound and maybe a cardboard tube that once held wrapping paper. I am pretty much done with the lyrics unless I want last minute changes, so yay!

I have thought about this: I am not going to contact a professional songwriter. Remember, I have two phases to my project. One, write a song, almost already done that. Two, I still have to make a video to go with it. I won’t find a songwriter, I am going to find some photographers. And there are so many more of those in Edmonton! I may be good with an instrument, but not really with a camera. A photographer will really help with making this video!

I made no progress with finishing the lyrics of my song. I don’t know how a good beginning looks, but I’ll keep trying.

My English teacher wants us to consult an expert soon. I don’t know any Edmonton song writers. My friend suggested Ruth B, the amazing songwriter from Edmonton. But how can I? I mean, Ruth B! She’s so famous! Like, she wrote one of my favourite songs. I don’t even think she would still be in Edmonton right now. But I don’t know who else to do.