Hello! Have you ever wonder how vibrant your personality is? Your about to find out in this post! (Just kidding, anyways continuing…) This blog post is about a short, Maker 9, project I’ve completed called Vibrant Video. The goal of this project was a to develop skills to become an effective movie maker. As I reflect, there we’re definitely plenty parts of this project where I think I produced great work and just really enjoyed everything that I was creating. But, still there were some aspects that I feel I could’ve really improved on. That being said I was always striving throughout this project to understand how to use the skills that we’ve learnt, in the best way possible. The main concepts I completed were 4 main moviemaking skills, note taking, and challenges based, which all corespondent to becoming a video maker.
On with the show…
The first skills I completed were skills 1 & 2, which were ‘Think Like a Movie Maker’ and ‘Framing Shots and Developing Angles’. I think I really learnt a lot from both of skills in different ways. I think the first skill was very necessary for me to understand the concept of this project. Throughout it we were tasked with building a story about ourselves by combining a few videos and photos (as well as creative elements, stickers etc.) in the software, Clips. I definitely could’ve improve on my this first skill because I think I lacked the actual storyline (I mean it was there, but not very clear) and I think I could’ve added more elements from Clips, such as Life Titles. Now, as I reflect, I think this addition would’ve probably benefited the explanation of the storyline.
Skill 2, was probably one of the most entertaining and knowledgeable skills I completed throughout this project. It was about developing angles and we did this throughout a silent film. I asked if I could do this skill as a collaborative assignment and I was granted with my wish. So, since I previously pitched this idea with Hannah we were able to work together to create a silent film together. We created our silent film based off of a softball game. The way we incorporated angles was by emphasizing on emotions (for example to make someone look powerful you film from lower while they tower over you). I think we were definitely able to do frame the subject of shots using the basic rules of composition, which led us to use a variety of angles to develop different shots for our story.
Meanwhile, I was also completing separate challenges based on the skills we learnt. These challenges were short clips that were a great way to boost creativity, and I really enjoyed them. We were tasked with finish two over the course of this project and, just for the fun of it, I decided to complete three. The challenges that I picked to do were called ‘Add A Song’ where we were tasked to take a real life scenario and a relating soundtrack to it. As well ‘Green Screen Challenge’ where we were tasked with using our special effects skill to make a video, which I probably could’ve improved on. Lastly, ‘Playing With Angles’, where we were tasked with playing with angles in unique and new ways. I really think ‘Playing With Angles’ was something I really showed my video making skills in because I tried to incorporate angle techniques, but also showing a storyline at the same time. Overall I think I was able to use my skills and develop further pieces of evidence to show that I am able to create videos.
Another thing I did, along side the skills, was a research document about Movies/film making. To complete this research I used a new software to obtain information called Craft. I listened and contributed to class discussions and took notes. I learnt about the film industry from how it started as a Zoopraxiscope with a man’s magic sneezing to a CGI modernized edited animation. When I took my notes I really learnt about how films industries broke away from studio control and animations started to form by drawings over top of real people, moving into the technique called cell animation.
During my research I built two more skills called ‘Skill 3: Planning and Shooting’ and ‘Skill 4: Making Most of Effects’. Skill 3 was centred around planning a film by using a storyboard. We were assigned small groups and I got to work with Noah and Jocelyn. We were tasked with creating a tutorial video that shows off professional techniques that would be generally associated with these films. We all collaborated to build a storyboard, Shoot our film from creative angles with (using a teleprompter if needed), and edit the film with composition and colour. We also follow the template of the, now, new iMovie update (we used the DIY storyboard version). I really think this skill helped me recognize the importance of all of these aspects and how they can really enhance the film quality.
The next skill, number 4, was about making the best qualities of effects (hence the name ‘Making Most of Effects). For this skill we were placed in a small group, once again, and were tasked with creating a special effects sequence. The peers in my group were Sabrina and Makenna and we worked together to create another short video (but this time based on special effects). This special effects sequence was tasked to be a short scene that features one of more special effects. We created a special effects video about a evil alien using green screen and sound effects. I really think that we probably could’ve improved on the over film because some of the transitions weren’t smooth and some elements could’ve be presented better. Yet, I think I learnt what to do by reflecting on what needed improvement and fixing those errors in future films.
As I think back to the previous videos I created, such as the “Ayo’ Canadian Check” video. I think I could’ve made it better by adding some skills, particularly angles and special effects (green screen, sound etc.). This would’ve added a more engaging and informative video for the audience. Now to move past the past and think about the future I will be making some more video content with groups. To make this videos an insightful and extraordinary we need to use the 4 skills I’ve learnt and apply them to every project. I think that I’ll stick to the movie making criteria of planning, shooting, and editing by constantly reflecting on everything I create (as I create it). If I follow these concepts in the next video I create it will be a great video that truly showcases the skills I’ve gained in this project.
To conclude, let’s put my knowledge to the test to answer the statement: “Describe the process of making a great video as you understand it from our work”. Well…I’m glad you asked letters on page! The process of making a great video revolves around three key steps:
Planning: To start the making of a video you need to create storyboard, shotlist, to develop angles and positions, as well as a storyline if necessary. This is one of the most important parts of a video because without it the video wouldn’t have a proper foundation.
Shooting: This middle stage is important because it is the literal media that will become the full video. To shoot your film you must follow your storyboard and shortlist (with obvious changes if you feel necessary). To shoot develop camera angles to adjust to lighting, which will really help the quality of the final product.
Editing: When finish shooting you can insert your media into a software and have the addition of effects. This will improve the quality and truly enhance the whole entirety of the video.
Throughout this project I’ve truly learnt helpful skills to become a successful video maker. What skill will you build on?
Thank you for reading this blog post,
Alicia 😀