Evaluation
I changed the idea for my video many times. I had many ideas and wanted to do them all. Ultimately the idea of time was the one I finally decided on. I had many ideas on how I wanted my video to be but decided on having problems connecting to the concept of time.
Originally I wanted all of the problems to be different. They are all different, but they are mainly about having children. Judging by the questionnaire forms I can see that the audience also perceived the video as circling around babies and children.
I removed and added a lot of scenes during the filmmaking but tried to keep the same idea behind the video.
The effects in the video are exactly what I wanted, for example: the scene with the mother and child I wanted in fast motion then to suddenly go into slow motion. I felt as though this part of the video went well and the audience seemed to also enjoy it. This is one of my favourite parts of the video along with the earth melting scene and the boy looking at baby scan scene.
The scene with the boy looking at the scan was very emotional. The audience’s reactions to the video changed a lot when this scene came on.
This scene is very authentic as the actor in the video has been through that exact situation which is why I wanted him to do this scene. Everyone said that this was the most realistic scene.
The audience’s reaction differed from scene to scene and this is how I wanted my video to be. Each scene has a different atmosphere to it, which is created mostly from the backing music. I wanted to bring the audience to different emotions throughout the video.
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to exhibit my video in the places I originally planned.
I did however show the video twice and in two different spaces.
The first exhibition was in the recording studio at college. As it is a very small space I only had two people watching my video at a time. The room was dark and the audience was seated on comfy chairs.
Their reactions towards the video seemed uncomfortable. The small space, lighting and only one other person in the room set a very enclosed atmosphere, which I hope helped to enhance the concept of not being able to escape life’s problems.
During some parts of the video the audience laughed, smiled and was almost brought to a tear. This proved my video as successful as each persons problem in the video aimed to bring out different emotions in the audience.
The second exhibition had a more complex layout that judging from the questionnaires, the audience enjoyed. There were 8 people viewing the video for this exhibition. All of the seats were in a row, facing in the opposite direction to the seat next to them. The video was shown on one projector on one wall and again from another projector on the opposite wall. This meant that half of the audience faced the front and half faced the back. The video was placed almost at the same time as each other with only a second difference to create an echo of the voices and music.
The audience seemed to thoroughly enjoy the exhibition and the video. I was very happy with the answers to the questionnaires. I was pleased that I had an exhibition that had a more unique layout to it.
The room was dark, just like the first exhibition so that the video could be seen easier. It wasn’t to make the audience uncomfortable as I wanted to see the different reactions in the audience depending on the location and set up of a room. The room was large but had tables and chairs in it. The audience was sat quite closely together but not too much that they would be uncomfortable.
The video still made the audience smile, laugh and seem sad but the audience seemed more intrigued than in the first exhibition.
In conclusion to the exhibitions, the second showing proved to be more relaxed and the audience’s emotions towards certain scenes were easier to identify. The first showing was uncomfortable and not relaxed at all. This made the audience quite stiff and as though they weren’t allowed to show emotion towards the video.
The audience’s feedback was great and I am very pleased. Almost everyone understood the concept. The music was said to be “exquisite” The concept was “very followable” Overall the audience enjoyed it. One said “the way it was told was unique”
If I was to do it again I wouldn’t stress as much about the original idea. I spent a lot of time trying to come up with an idea that would be fun and unique and found that in the end I ended up with my original idea.
There are many videos that share certain similarities as my video, such as; Telling Lies by Simon Ellis, this has non diagetic speech much like mine and the characters all have a problem yet mine is shown through video than text. My video has a lot of stop frame animation like Muto a wall painted animation by Blu even though the drawings aren’t as in depth.
My video is not one continuous scene; instead it is many short scenes some in different locations and with different people. Even though none of the scenes are the same they are all portraying the same thing. Koyaanisqatsi also has many different scenes, all gathering around the same idea but all of different locations and people.
In conclusion overall, I am happy with all aspects of the video, post and pre production, exhibition and the video itself. There are things that I would change but nothing too significant.
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
Monday, 7 December 2009
Diary entry 10
Entry 10 – 23/11/09
Today I was very pleased with my work; however I did have some problems at the beginning. I managed to edit almost all of my video and was too interested in completing my work that I hadn’t been saving it. The computer crashed and I lost all of the work that I had done. I remembered a lot of the parts that I had edited such as cropping clips, transitions and audio editing. This made it a lot easier to re-do all the work. I managed to edit it all and produce the soundtrack before the end of the lesson. The only thing left to do for the video is importing people’s thoughts over the top of the soundtrack.
For the soundtrack I didn’t want one that was similar throughout, instead I used music that portrayed what was happening in the scene. Even though none of the sound clips are similar they sound very good when played with the video. I used some sound effects such as a clock ticking and a child’s laugh. My favourite part of the video is during shot 6 when the mother is tapping the ball. As the rest of the scene is in fast motion I thought it would be quite effective to slow it down completely during one part of the scene. I chose when the mother is tapping the child’s ball as I thought that this would look the best. This is also the only part in the video that doesn’t have a soundtrack to it. When it is in slow motion the sound effect coming from tapping the ball looks good and I didn’t want to change it.
Today I was very pleased with my work; however I did have some problems at the beginning. I managed to edit almost all of my video and was too interested in completing my work that I hadn’t been saving it. The computer crashed and I lost all of the work that I had done. I remembered a lot of the parts that I had edited such as cropping clips, transitions and audio editing. This made it a lot easier to re-do all the work. I managed to edit it all and produce the soundtrack before the end of the lesson. The only thing left to do for the video is importing people’s thoughts over the top of the soundtrack.
For the soundtrack I didn’t want one that was similar throughout, instead I used music that portrayed what was happening in the scene. Even though none of the sound clips are similar they sound very good when played with the video. I used some sound effects such as a clock ticking and a child’s laugh. My favourite part of the video is during shot 6 when the mother is tapping the ball. As the rest of the scene is in fast motion I thought it would be quite effective to slow it down completely during one part of the scene. I chose when the mother is tapping the child’s ball as I thought that this would look the best. This is also the only part in the video that doesn’t have a soundtrack to it. When it is in slow motion the sound effect coming from tapping the ball looks good and I didn’t want to change it.
Diary entry 9
Entry 9 - 18/11/09
Today I was unable to get any editing done. I was very upset with this as I still had a lot to do.
Today I was unable to get any editing done. I was very upset with this as I still had a lot to do.
Diary entry 8
Entry 8 – 16/11/09
This was the first day of post production. It took a while to import all of my video and get used to using the software. I managed to get some of my editing done but I wish I had got more done. I had some trouble when moving the clips onto the timeline and some clips ended up in the wrong places.
This was the first day of post production. It took a while to import all of my video and get used to using the software. I managed to get some of my editing done but I wish I had got more done. I had some trouble when moving the clips onto the timeline and some clips ended up in the wrong places.
Diary entry 7
Entry 7 – 14-15/11/09
Over the weekend I went over and over each of the scenes that I had filmed. I wanted to make sure that I would be happy with them when editing. I also filled out the counter on my log sheet which will be useful for when I’m editing to know what scenes I want to import and which ones to not import.
I also made sure that all of my paperwork was done correctly and in order.
Over the weekend I went over and over each of the scenes that I had filmed. I wanted to make sure that I would be happy with them when editing. I also filled out the counter on my log sheet which will be useful for when I’m editing to know what scenes I want to import and which ones to not import.
I also made sure that all of my paperwork was done correctly and in order.
Diay entry 6
Entry 6 - 13/11/09
I only had one more scene to film, shot 3, woman preparing for a date. I originally hoped for it to be filmed in my own house but due to actors schedules I had to film at my mother’s house. Once I was there I began to set up all of the camera equipment I realised that I did not have my tape with me. This was very unfortunate and I couldn’t film until later on in the day. However, I managed to film later on that day at my own house which is where I intended to film originally.
This scene took 3 takes. The first take my actress laughed but it wasn’t very long into filming so I was happy to re-do it. The second take was good but I felt as though it wasn’t very realistic so I wanted to try again. I wanted all of my shots to be as realistic as possible as they are about real problems in life.
The last take went a lot better. I felt as though the acting seemed genuine and throwing the clothes was timed very well. I also added in a shot of the clothes falling onto the bed. I feel this adds a little more to the creativity.
I only had one more scene to film, shot 3, woman preparing for a date. I originally hoped for it to be filmed in my own house but due to actors schedules I had to film at my mother’s house. Once I was there I began to set up all of the camera equipment I realised that I did not have my tape with me. This was very unfortunate and I couldn’t film until later on in the day. However, I managed to film later on that day at my own house which is where I intended to film originally.
This scene took 3 takes. The first take my actress laughed but it wasn’t very long into filming so I was happy to re-do it. The second take was good but I felt as though it wasn’t very realistic so I wanted to try again. I wanted all of my shots to be as realistic as possible as they are about real problems in life.
The last take went a lot better. I felt as though the acting seemed genuine and throwing the clothes was timed very well. I also added in a shot of the clothes falling onto the bed. I feel this adds a little more to the creativity.
Diary entry 5
Entry 5 – 12/11/09
I was very pleased with the amount of work that I managed to get done today.
I filmed shot 2, Man and woman having dinner, the man proposes to the woman. I filmed this scene last as this would take the longest. This scene had the most props; Dinner set, wine and glasses, candles, flower in the centre, engagement ring and box. Positioning the camera correctly proved harder than I originally thought. I had to position it so that you could see both characters and was already in the right angle for the proposal. I also had to position it low enough so that when the man did propose, you would be able to see him on his knee.
This shot took the longest not just because of props or camera positioning but because of actors as well. I played the woman in this shot and the man was played by Daniel Lawrance. Sammy-Lee Rosen helped me with recording the shot once I had positioned the camera for him. The first part of the shot went perfectly. Part 2 of the shot took two takes as the first time the man’s voice wasn’t loud enough. The shot went better on the second try.
Part 3 of shot 2 took the longest to film. In total it took 8 shots. Part 3 is an extreme close up of my face. I had to look as though I was confused and didn’t know what to say. This is a hard thing to portray without speaking as when you speak a lot of the emotion comes through that. The majority of the takes I laughed or coughed. This however was the scene that I had the most fun with. Take 8 I managed to not laugh or cough and the shot ended up O.K.
Shot 7, teenage boy looking at a photograph of his babies scan went very well. It only took 1 take and was portrayed in the exact way that I wanted it to.
I was very pleased with the amount of work that I managed to get done today.
I filmed shot 2, Man and woman having dinner, the man proposes to the woman. I filmed this scene last as this would take the longest. This scene had the most props; Dinner set, wine and glasses, candles, flower in the centre, engagement ring and box. Positioning the camera correctly proved harder than I originally thought. I had to position it so that you could see both characters and was already in the right angle for the proposal. I also had to position it low enough so that when the man did propose, you would be able to see him on his knee.
This shot took the longest not just because of props or camera positioning but because of actors as well. I played the woman in this shot and the man was played by Daniel Lawrance. Sammy-Lee Rosen helped me with recording the shot once I had positioned the camera for him. The first part of the shot went perfectly. Part 2 of the shot took two takes as the first time the man’s voice wasn’t loud enough. The shot went better on the second try.
Part 3 of shot 2 took the longest to film. In total it took 8 shots. Part 3 is an extreme close up of my face. I had to look as though I was confused and didn’t know what to say. This is a hard thing to portray without speaking as when you speak a lot of the emotion comes through that. The majority of the takes I laughed or coughed. This however was the scene that I had the most fun with. Take 8 I managed to not laugh or cough and the shot ended up O.K.
Shot 7, teenage boy looking at a photograph of his babies scan went very well. It only took 1 take and was portrayed in the exact way that I wanted it to.
Diary entry 4
Entry 4 - 11/11/09
Today I focused more on my paperwork then recording my video. All of my paperwork had been done except the storyboard and call sheet. I finished the storyboard and I am happy with my storyboard.
Yesterday I managed to get all of my stop frame animation filming finished. I changed the clock ticking idea for shot 4 and replaced it with the words ‘Tick, Tock’ being scribbled off the screen. This shot continues shot 8. I think that this is more effective than the clock ticking and more imaginative. Originally I was going to have the words appearing on the screen, but I preferred the idea of the words being scribbled out. This technique helps to emphasise our loss of time.
Tomorrow I intend to have the rest of my scenes filmed.
Today I focused more on my paperwork then recording my video. All of my paperwork had been done except the storyboard and call sheet. I finished the storyboard and I am happy with my storyboard.
Yesterday I managed to get all of my stop frame animation filming finished. I changed the clock ticking idea for shot 4 and replaced it with the words ‘Tick, Tock’ being scribbled off the screen. This shot continues shot 8. I think that this is more effective than the clock ticking and more imaginative. Originally I was going to have the words appearing on the screen, but I preferred the idea of the words being scribbled out. This technique helps to emphasise our loss of time.
Tomorrow I intend to have the rest of my scenes filmed.
Diary entry 3
Entry 3 - 08/11/09
Today I filmed scenes; 6 & 7
Scene 6 went very well; it was filmed in only one take. I change the idea of his problem from having an argument with a friend, to being worried about becoming a father.
My original idea for shot 7 was to film the moon; unfortunately the night wasn’t clear enough to even see it. Because of this, I improvised by filming the Earth panning out and spinning on its axis. It still has the same idea behind it; I have just removed the moon from the beginning.
I intended to film scenes 8 and 9 this evening as well, but the camera battery ran out and has had to be charged up. I am returning the equipment tomorrow so I would like to have as many scenes filmed as possible.
Today I filmed scenes; 6 & 7
Scene 6 went very well; it was filmed in only one take. I change the idea of his problem from having an argument with a friend, to being worried about becoming a father.
My original idea for shot 7 was to film the moon; unfortunately the night wasn’t clear enough to even see it. Because of this, I improvised by filming the Earth panning out and spinning on its axis. It still has the same idea behind it; I have just removed the moon from the beginning.
I intended to film scenes 8 and 9 this evening as well, but the camera battery ran out and has had to be charged up. I am returning the equipment tomorrow so I would like to have as many scenes filmed as possible.
Diary entry 2
Entry 2 – 07/11/09
Today I intended to have the majority of my scenes filmed, unfortunately not all of the actors turned up and could only do scenes; 1, 1.5, 3.
I am happy with how scenes 1 and 1.5 have turned out; the only problem was that during scene 1.5 the paper kept moving. Hopefully I can edit it to make it look better. Scene 3 went well; I originally hoped that the child would play by himself, but he was very interested in Pingu on the television so I had to interact with him in the scene. I caught 7minutes 54seconds of footage for scene 2 which will be edited down and shown in fast forward. The idea of the fast motion is to enlarge the idea of him growing up too quickly, as this is the mother’s problem.
Yesterday I hoped to film the moon but it was too cloudy and tonight is too cloudy and raining. Hopefully tomorrow night will be a clear one so that I can have that scene filmed.
Because the actors that were supposed to film scene 2 today were unavailable I had to stand in for them. This made it more difficult to film as I also had to interact with the child. So instead I had help in filming while I was in the frame.
Originally I had hoped for different actors for each scene, this proved quite difficult fitting filming around their schedules and equipment booking times. Instead I am using repeat actors. This however makes my video seem less authentic so I have arranged it so that no one is in two consecutive scenes. This will help to separate the idea of repeating actors and make the video more realistic.
Today I intended to have the majority of my scenes filmed, unfortunately not all of the actors turned up and could only do scenes; 1, 1.5, 3.
I am happy with how scenes 1 and 1.5 have turned out; the only problem was that during scene 1.5 the paper kept moving. Hopefully I can edit it to make it look better. Scene 3 went well; I originally hoped that the child would play by himself, but he was very interested in Pingu on the television so I had to interact with him in the scene. I caught 7minutes 54seconds of footage for scene 2 which will be edited down and shown in fast forward. The idea of the fast motion is to enlarge the idea of him growing up too quickly, as this is the mother’s problem.
Yesterday I hoped to film the moon but it was too cloudy and tonight is too cloudy and raining. Hopefully tomorrow night will be a clear one so that I can have that scene filmed.
Because the actors that were supposed to film scene 2 today were unavailable I had to stand in for them. This made it more difficult to film as I also had to interact with the child. So instead I had help in filming while I was in the frame.
Originally I had hoped for different actors for each scene, this proved quite difficult fitting filming around their schedules and equipment booking times. Instead I am using repeat actors. This however makes my video seem less authentic so I have arranged it so that no one is in two consecutive scenes. This will help to separate the idea of repeating actors and make the video more realistic.
Diary entry 1
Entry 1 - 06/11/09
I changed the video for the millionth time, tweaking little parts to make it better. The paperwork has been taking a long time to do as I keep changing my idea.
The concept of my video has changed completely. It is now based on life schedules and how we live our life with certain markers in place. Our path has already been written.
I have removed all of the interviews and added non diagetic narration in the background. This is supposed to portray the thoughts of the characters; it also helps to show exactly what their problems are. Each of the dialects connects to the next scene to help the experimental flow of the video.
There is a lot more experimental activity in this video then my original video idea. Hopefully I will have the videoing done in time for the post production as there is a lot of editing.
There is a lot of stop frame animation and freeze frame editing. I have now re-done all of the paperwork
I changed the video for the millionth time, tweaking little parts to make it better. The paperwork has been taking a long time to do as I keep changing my idea.
The concept of my video has changed completely. It is now based on life schedules and how we live our life with certain markers in place. Our path has already been written.
I have removed all of the interviews and added non diagetic narration in the background. This is supposed to portray the thoughts of the characters; it also helps to show exactly what their problems are. Each of the dialects connects to the next scene to help the experimental flow of the video.
There is a lot more experimental activity in this video then my original video idea. Hopefully I will have the videoing done in time for the post production as there is a lot of editing.
There is a lot of stop frame animation and freeze frame editing. I have now re-done all of the paperwork
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
