Hello and welcome back to my blog! This is my first ever blog in grade 9 and so far it feels the same! This project is all about the videos we made in Alberta, plus one video we did at home! We had one and a half weeks to film and edit 4 videos! Now if you ask me that’s a lot of videos! It’s safe to say that I have had lots of experience in the process of planning, filming, and editing. Through these videos, we were finding evidence, to answer the driving question, how might I use the moving image to tell a story? The four videos we worked on were the at home, silent, Tik Tok, and investigative video. In all of these videos I learned a different skill, that helped me produce the best product.
The first video I did was my at home video. I really liked making this video because I felt that it really showed my personality. I love the idea of the get ready with me and how I executed it. The beginning shots, turned out exactly how I envisioned. In this video I learned how to successfully take a vision and turn it into a story about who I am, what I believe in, and what inspires me.
The second video was the silent video. This video was a group project. I had Alex and Neko as my wonderful group members (see their blogs by clicking their name). This video was a challenge, and really pushed our adaptability. Since we had never been to three valley gap, we relied on the website, looking at previous videos, and asking the Gr. 10’s. Even then we didn’t have a completely clear picture, so we had to improvise. Sometimes we saw something and thought it would be cool to add it in, other times what we thought would work out didn’t. This skill will be beneficial in other aspects of my life as well. Something doesn’t go my way, adapt! I also learned about camera angles. Because there is no speaking, you have to rely on facial expressions. Next time I would include more close up face shots to help the person watching gain a better understanding of the emotions being felt.
The third video we worked on was the Tik Tok. I submitted two of these videos as I couldn’t choose which one I liked more! In the first one I learned about camera angles. I learned that in order for it to look like a Tik Tok, I had to be filming in portrait. I learned this the hard way, but I found ways to work around it. The second video follows the same get ready with me theme, and screams Syd! I love this video so much because seeing myself smile, reminds of how much fun I genuinely had making this. This video was more of a spur of the moment filming choice. I think if I were do to this again I definitely would have made a plan. I would have said where I was going to do it, what I was going to say, and what I would use as the different steps in my routine. These smaller details would have made the filming process much easier.
The investigative video was a way for us to express our findings, relating to our thesis, from the interviews we conducted. (I explain more in my humanities post). Through this video I learned how to properly conduct an interview. I learned how to approach a stranger, ask for their consent to be filmed, and phrase my questions in a way that the interviewee understood. In the beginning of this process my questions made no sense, after thinking, and talking about it with peers and teachers I found a way to word my questions so they not only made sense, but they would benefit me greatly. The questions I asked gained me more knowledge, to prove my thesis.
All the skills I learned combined are necessary to create a story using the moving image. Camera angles and close ups can really show depth in your story. Having a solid plan can allow for a smooth process with minimal confusion or conflict. Lastly, making sure the video represents you! You are telling the story and people should see that when they watch your video!
Syddy Giddy out! ✌️