Getting closer to the final piece!
Okay, clearly the export didnt work properly. I’ll have it up later.
Post Production Journal
POST PRODUCTION
LOGGING SHOTS: After shooting I uploaded my footage into iMovie ’09 and searched through the material. My first draft of the project that I posted last week is a 5 minute cut of all the interviews I wanted to use. Then I watched the 5 minute cut several times and took notes about what each person said. I also made sure to get b-roll specific to each person being interviews. Yesterday I went through the new b-roll and labeled it on iMovie relative to how it will be used. Then, I added the bits over some of my 5 min interview cut. Last night I also posted a long journal about what I want to communicate and how i plan to do that.
SCRIPTING + PAPER EDITING: This is pretty much the blogs I posted last night. I brainstormed in a notebook for a while and wrote a summary to my blog. Basically I want to have introductions (Communities Draft 2), then the idea that we need communities, followed by how communities serve us and, wrapped up with good community shots and a bit of advertising.
RESHOOTS: I still need shots of Cara Dancing, I also wouldn’t mind reshooting her saying that she is a dance major b/c she is giggling in my video.
REFLECTION: I feel like I have a lot of material that can be shaped into a decent video. I sort of have 5 narratives with the same theme to create one flowing narrative. I’m picking my footage by slowing assembly sections of the video at a time and at that point selecting what of the raw footage would be most appropriate for the final video. With iMovie 09 it is really easy to adjust the clips in your project later by stretching them to use a bigger section of the raw footage.
IMPROVISATION: My ideas are evolving. I have decided to emit the “silent” stories I spoke of before. I feel that they fit with the rest of the project as a whole. The silent story/stories would probably show a person being lonely and then finding a community, while this is pertaining to communities it shows them as a way to not be lonely. While making friends is an important part of communities, It is already mentioned in the project, and would emphasize the wrong things to include it twice. I the viewer to think about the other benefits.
REHEARSAL: I am pretty pleased with the rough cut. I like the way the ideas flow and move from one to the next. I did cut out some parts that were redundant and moved a couple things before I was completely happy with it. I am constantly watching the pacing. I definitely don’t want it to be too quick, but I am also concerned about boring the audience. I have been playing with the audio a lot. I have detached a lot of it and put the narrations over b-roll footage. Today will be my second time proposing a draft too class, last week I got very helpful feedback and am excited to see if the class likes the changed I made.
Video Progress
Alright, a little walk, a chapel visit, and some facebooking later, I finally was able to get working on my next steps with this video.
In abstract this video will convey the ( 1 ) importance, ( 2 ) need, ( 3 ) and benefits of communities, particularly on a college campus.
Tools I will use in the video are ( 1 ) personal stories from interviews and silent stories; (2 ) music that is consistent, not obtrusive, and applicable; and ( 3 ) silence that will offer time to reflect on personal experiences with communities and add drama to the lonliness in result of lack of communities.
The basic structure I have laid out will follow these 5 parts:
( 1 ) Open with introductions: using pauses and b-roll, building interest with timing, and background music.
( 2 )Show reasons for communities: using interivews, silent stoires, “busy people” b-roll, “lonely” b-roll, sad music, and timing to add drama.
( 3 )Explain types of communities and definitions: using the interviews, pictures, and maybe drive-by footage
( 4 ) Display benefits and outcomes of the organizations: using interviews, happy pictures, victorious pictures, emphasizing personal improvement and philanthropy.
( 5 ) Encourage Participation: using Nick’s closing statement, quad day/ fair pictures, and smiling groups of people.
After writing the first 4 parts out in my “ideas” notebook that I always carry with me, I noticed that they pretty much were following Monroe’s motivated sequence! That was pretty exciting, I guess my sub conscious had really taken hold for that one.
My concern right now is that I won’t be able to use the music appropriately. It seems like the biggest challenge so far. How to have sound for effect without taking away from the benefit of silence or distracting from the actual interviews. Can I use several songs throughout the video? Would it make a more consistent piece if only one song was used?
Creative struggles
I’ve been extremely busy this weekend. Friday was devoted to organizing/running Newman Formal. Saturday and today had there own slew of random things mixed in. I finished my other hw for the weekend and am trying to get working on my video. I want to have a pretty good draft raeady for class tomorrow becasue my goal is to present on Wedneday. So clearly i have a lot of work to do. However, I have never been less motivated to work on my video project. I don’t really understand my current mood because I don’t know what it is I would like to do. Sleeeping doesn’t sound great, neither does eating, or watching TV, but HW is definite NO as well.
I’m going to take a walk and think about my project and hopefully i will be encouraged to begin!!!
Editting my video
Editing material is a very exciting experience. It worries me because I have the ability to completely alter something. I can changed the timing and music to create a completely different mood. I could rearrange words to change the meaning of what someone said.
Mostly the editing process is difficult for me because in my mind I can see a “big picture” idea of what I want, but it is very very difficult for me to translate that big picture into specific details of what to do step by step.
Basically I just try to collect things and ideas as they come to me. I try to constantly be thinking about what it is my video needs and how I can make it better. I keep my art 250 notebook in my bookbag so I can jot something down when it comes to mind.
This morning when I was editing I knew that I needed to have a nice introduction. I didnt want to start off with inteviews and I didnt want to bore the viewer with B-roll from the start. I decided to do a very short slideshow of pictures showing communitiy. This idea fits in with parts of my manifesto that words and titles can distract from the meaning so my pictures will tell the viewer what hte video is about. Also my manifesto and beliefs state that music can change you mood, so i decided to add a song to the opening slideshow.
I’m still concerned about the spacing of the video. I think it needs much more negative space. I think my next step though is to continue working with what parts of the interviews and getting the spoken words as I want them (not too much of them either!) Then I will go through and work on b-roll type stuff. After all that I will work with adding delays and negative space.
The shooting & editing relationship is very interesting. I need to shoot a variety of footage because I don’t know how I will feel inspired when editing. Also, the footage I have will affect the way I think about my video when I’m editing. In general, I need to keep a very open mind when working on each of them!
Production
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS: What communities are you involved in? How did you feel when entering the university? How has being apart or the organizations effected you? Have you seen people do things that they ordinarily would not have done without being a part of the group? How do you define “community”?
SHOT LIST: I definitely need additional B-roll footage of Nick playing tuba. I am going to a game tomorrow night to record the band together. I also will be going to one of Stephanie’s track practices next week and maybe even a meet on April 25th. I think i might want to get additional interview time with some of them especially Tim and Cara so that I can have more quality shots of them. I also plan to shoot video of a few silent stories. I am doing one of those this Friday and plan to make one or two more next week.
STYLE AND ELEMENTS: The interviews are all in similar locations, actually just different rooms in the same dorm that all have similar furniture and colors. The additional b-roll footage will take place on location to show the action better. The b-roll will include both performances and practices as well as a mix of up close and zoomed out.
STORYBOARD: The video will start by introducing the silent story characters to build intrigue. Then the interviewed characters will introduce themselves. These pieces will alternate as the conflict builds and is then resolved. B-roll footage of organizations in action will be used appropriately throughout to better visualize the interviewees stories.
COMPOSITION AND FORM: I think what the audience will take home is the reality of the piece. I will make sure that the interviews and stories feel personable and real. Towards the end of the video the interviewees will define community in their own words. This would be the biggest “key fact” that the viewers will need to find. Slowing down the speed of things toward the end will help emphasize the final definitions that are the big punch of the project.
IN THE FIELD: I haven’t done much yet. I was definitely surprised with the repsonses I got in the interviews. The first three gave me much more material and better answers then I had expected. Then the last two interviews were much more informal and that definitely took away from the quality of information they gave me. I was able to work through it all though by using the first three to be the main meat and potatoes of the piece and use the other interviews as fillers and comic relief.
REFLECTION: Again, I have only conducted preliminary interviews, but I am feeling pretty good about the project. I am very happy with the material I got through the interviews and it gives me good hope that I will find more pleasant surprises. I have learned that we all have similar experiences but at the same time I can’t expect to get the answers I’m looking for in an interview, but thats what makes it real.
IMPROVISATION: This is an extremely important step. I tend to be a last-minute kind of guy and I am not good at planning little details. Therefore, I always need to be able to think quick on my feet by figuring out what is going to work and how to fit things together. Even for the 5 minute rough cut of interview questions I only wanted to get ideas, but I realized that this was an opportunity to record some quality material so I continued asking questions and getting great footage of the interviewees. Then I altered my plan to make the 1-2 minute rough cut and just put together a full 5 minute rough cut with the interviews. (I did make a 2 minute cut as well). I was very pleased with the 5 minute cut and think it will be an excellent launch pad for my final project.
Pre-Production
PERSONAL: I spent a couple days trying to determine a topic because the ones I thought of just didn’t hit home and I knew I wouldnt be excited to work with them. Then one night, walking from my fraternity meeting back to Newman Hall, the idea of communities hit me. It was perfect, this has always been an integral part of my life. I really do believe in the power and necessity of communities in our lives. I also think they are much more prevelant than we realize.
WORKING STATEMENT: My belief to be exhibited is that communities can change us for the better and can enable to do great things. They are also necessary for our emotional and social well bening. I want the viewer to walk home thinking about the organizations in his life that matter to him and reflect on how valuable these communities are. Indirectly I also expect this to encourage the viewer to become more active in the communities they are involved it and also help to fost the growth of institutions that may one day serve the next generation the way they have helped us.
RESEARCH: This is a subject matter of which I already have a pretty good concept. I have always been active in different groups and am self-reflective about the impact they have had on me. I know that the bulk of my studies can be done simply by asking similar questions to my peers. Some additional sources could be sociological studies and even just talking to teachers and moderators.
ANXIETIES: I think the main challenge of this will be trying to find footage to exemplify the things I am trying to say. How can I record video in the next two weeks of someone accomplishing something great because of their community? How can I depict people feeling at home and feeling a sense of belonging?
TOPIC: In this piece, famed artist and entrepreneur, Pete Tigue, tells us about the value of communities. He states his beliefs that tight-knit well-connected organizations can enable members to accomplish greater things and drive them to set higher goals. Through a series of video clips and interviews he shows viewers that communities are sources of joy and happiness.
BACKGROUND: This will be immediately relatable to all audiences. Everyone, is someway or another has experienced community. People not members of Greek letter organizations may not relate to those specifics but still understand club and dorm atmospheres.
CHARACTERS: My narrative will consist of several consecutive interviews, a couple “silent” video stories, and footage of teams/fraternities/clubs in action. Meticulous layering will keep interest.
CONFLICT: The conflict will be displayed by natural human needs. Everyone needs somewhere to belong and a place to call home. We all need a sense of belonging and commitment. Furthermore, we are looking for ways to motivate and better ourselves.
STRUCTURE: The video will start by introducing the silent story characters to build intrigue. Then the interviewed characters will introduce themselves. These pieces will alternate as the conflict builds and is then resolved. B-roll footage of organizations in action will be used appropriately throughout to better visualize the interviewees stories.
CONTENT: Hmm, actually, I’m not sure if I have any key imagery or facts. I think what the audience will take home is the reality of the piece. I will make sure that the interviews and stories feel personable and real. Towards the end of the video the interviewees will define community in their own words. This would be the biggest “key fact” that the viewers will need to find.
STYLE: The mood will vary a bit throughout the film, mostly light-hearted but tipping towards a dreary/sad emotions when discussing transitions and needs and more happy moods when talking about the benefits of communities.
AUDIENCE: My audience could be very wide but I will appeal more towards high school and college students because all the examples given will be from these groups.
RESOLUTION: The piece will end with an interviewee saying he thinks everyone should be as involved as possible because it will make your time at school something to remember. This will impact people to realize that what you did will always be remembered longer than the grades you got. That the people you connect with now, you will have forever, so never miss an opportunity to try something new, to meet new people, and to give your heart to your communities.
LOGISTICS: My plan is to continue building off the interviews I have already conducted. I want to spend the next week gathering b-roll footage by going to tract practice and band rehearsal. This friday I will be recording the first of the “silent stories” and plan to do one or two more the week following. Then I will mash everything together until the story is told properly and ideas develop in a good sequence.
Spoken Belief Essay
I made a video slide show with me reading my final essay. Some of the pictures are mine of family and friends. However, I didn’t have many pictures on my computer due to a recent hard drive crash. Therefore, many of the images come courtesy of Google Images.
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ART 250 