READING & WRITING:
Chapter 10: After the Shoot – Editing: To start off this chapter, an exercise was presented to the reader on how to visual edit your surroundings. While I didn’t have anyone read it to me, I did try to follow along and perform the acts as described in the text. It was an interesting exercise because it made me slow down and properly look at what was an otherwise very familiar room in my home. I tried to take this experience with me when I went to my location to shoot.
One of the following sections was about establishing and then reestablishing the environment that you are trying to present. This was also helpful in framing the project for this module since the video was limited to one location. I found that pretty challenging at first and my first time going out to film was unsuccessful. After going through the chapter and wrapping my head around some of the ways I could apply these concepts, that feeling that I was working within a limited capacity went away, and I was really much more comfortable and inspired by the space I had previously thought would have been a bore to create a video around.
RESEARCH TO INFORM:
Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright): I know I’ve mentioned it in other modules and other classes, but Edgar Wright’s editing techniques are just too darn relevant to the topic to not include again. I love the rapid cuts that he edits in order to create a bit of tension in addition to moving the scene and story along – it’s an effective style that has become quite a signature in his work.
Stranger Things: This particular video has a number of editing examples but the first one is an edit that I really enjoyed because of the anticipation that is created with the wide shot, paired with the quick rapid movement of an unrelated scene that shakes the viewer out of the scene they were just engrossed in. It certainly guides the viewer out of, and into scenes effectively.
Dogma: This scene is edited flawlessly to intertwine climactic events taking place at two separate locations, each cut matching the ‘beat’ of the alternating cut as it goes back and forth. It’s quick moving but carries two very involved scenes along simultaneously until they reach their final and allows the viewer to follow along without needing much of an explanation about how the events of each scene ultimately affect each other.
CREATE:
This was an interesting experience. I was able to look at a park that I often walk through in a different light and I think I did an alright job of capturing that in the video. I REALLY didn’t want to include any narration in this project but obviously did, to fulfill the requirement. I think it was the type of video that would have worked better with captions/text along the bottom
I had purchased THIS stabilizer for my DSLR and had done some tests after getting it balanced because I wanted just a couple of shots with movement in them. After getting home and looking through what I had shot on the last day I could go out to film, I realized that it wasn’t nearly as smooth as I thought it would be. There is clearly a learning curve on this piece of equipment that I need to work out quickly.
The process felt very much like taking a still picture. Working on a tripod slows you down so that you have to pay attention to all the details and nuances. It isn’t about speed, it’s about composing the best shot you can under the circumstances. Circumstances for me around this project were rough but enjoyable overall.
(And now I’m running into a weird audio problem where the levels sound fine playing from my computer by are barely noticeable on youtube. UGH.)