Reading and Writing:

Over the past seven weeks I have immersed myself into audio and video design. When I first started this exploration and reading The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Video, I didn’t think my video skills would improve much, it didn’t feel like enough time. But I can honestly say I feel much more confident behind the camera now.

Using my phone camera to photograph and film, I was hesitant I wouldn’t feel the full effect of the class, but the composition skills I learned, applies to any camera lens. For me, learning the basics of good composition for the camera helped me the most. I can even see it helping me in my graphic design work. Learning about balance, depth of field, leading lines, and natural framing, has allowed me to tell a more compelling story and strengthen the message I’m trying to portray in video. While I knew a lot of these rules already, applying them to video was a whole new experience that will stay will me.

While I also enjoyed learning about linear continuity and the 180-degree rule, both were difficult to learn. Understanding the concept is one thing but putting it into practice when filming and then again when editing was difficult. Looking back at my footage, it was difficult for me to remember not to cross this imaginary line. My novice eye just didn’t notice anything was off to begin with. So I hope to strengthen this skill going forward.

Writing scripts and storyboards also helped my overall creative process and helped me feel prepared when out in the wild, filming. But I would have liked more tips on how to create a more well thought out story. As sometimes I have difficulty knowing which shots would look better where and hooking the audience early is a skill in itself. But this is also something that comes with practice.

Either way, I hope to keep refining these video skills, even if it’s for a personal project. I know what I’ve learned will help me in my future design endeavors, whether that be still image composition or editing for audio and video. This class has truly leveled up my skills, and I feel even more comfortable in Adobe Premiere. The video skills I learned will help me create better videos and learning Adobe Audition will also help me edit audio for my current design role. Overall, it’s been a great learning experience.

Research to Inform:

With J and L cuts last on my list to learn, I found some inspiring examples from movies I aim to imitate in my own projects. One great J cut was in the movie Whiplash. The opening scene starts with a J cut, where we only hear music playing and no visuals are shown. It creates a powerful opening for the film and creates tension as we wait for the scene to appear. For 30 seconds, we have to focus on the audio, the drum solo, and anticipate what is going to come next. While most J cuts in between two scenes create a natural transition, this one works well also because it builds the anticipation right away. This entire movie shows many J and L cuts throughout – again in the YouTube clip above at 8:15, the promising drummer is peering in on a band rehearsal. As we hear the band playing, it cuts to him walking away from the room, but we still hear the band in the background. With the audio carrying over into the next clip, this can be identified as an L cut. It lets us know that these two scenes are related to one another and shows the characters actions after viewing and hearing the band.

Another great example of L cuts is from the Ant-man movie. The scene above starts with the two actors talking to each other but then as one of them starts to tell a story, the film instantly cuts to another scene, which is the visuals to the story being told. When we are hearing the narration from the first scene we start to see a second scene, but with the same dialogue from the first. This is a typical L cut. But as we continue watching this clip, it goes back and forth between the story visuals and the original scene with the two guys talking. So, there are actually multiple L cuts happening here, just in this minute and half clip. This type of editing works well for this conversation because we can see multiple character reactions and still get a smooth scene transition. We are able to understand a fast and busy story but also understand where the original conversation is taking place and with who. Without L cuts, scenes would be more abrupt, or we would only get half a story.

Create:

This week I finished working on my mini documentary about libraries and how they are changing for a new wave of patrons. This topic is something I’m passionate about and I wanted to shed some light on a library that is doing the hard work today. Getting the chance to tour and interview a librarian at Gunn Memorial library was an amazing opportunity. This really helped my project provide a first-hand account and humanize the story.

Since this was my first time interviewing someone and setting up 3-point lighting, there were some difficulties. I realized quickly that I was competing with the natural light coming in from the big windows, so I tried to work with that by having a very soft key light. But using natural light also meant that it was inconsistent at times, so I tried to adjust as best I could.

The day I shot all my b-roll was also extremely sunny, causing some of my outdoor shots to be blown out from the sun. Again, I wish there was more contrast in some of these shots, but my phone just couldn’t handle the strong sun. As I look back now, I wonder if it was because the sun was bouncing off the snow. However, I am proud of the story my documentary tells and proud of the editing I did to it. Filming a massive amount of b-roll helped me create a more compelling story and allowed me to create many J and L cuts throughout. It was especially helpful when my interviewee was talking, and I was able to show what she was talking about. I also got to play around with the Ken Burns effect – It really added a more professional touch to the beginning of my video.

But enough about my process, enjoy the full video below!