Personal Planning, Reflection and Development: The Academic Year
May 11th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
The brief was “interactive video” for which my group settled upon making locational videos, creating a narrative and a set path in a public place, with QR tags with locational points assigned in order.
The premise, in my mind, was a very good idea, if executed well. However, a lack of organisation led to poor results in video quality.
We began shooting on a monday, with what we felt at the time, adequate preparation. However we soon learned that storyboards are vital to a successful video project, as we lost track of what shot should be done next. We relied too heavily on the shot list to capture every frame and hope that each one made sense, and did not conflict light or continuity.
However, the first day of shooting went adequately well, as we had no delays due to weather or actors, but without the storyboard, we found shots were hard to envisage in our head. We powered through the shot list and captured necessary bits, in order for our story to make sense. We soon realised that a multiple linear storyline was slightly too much to do, and found we had previously under estimated the amount of shooting to be done.
Having completed the first day of shooting and getting around 80% of the shots required, we were left with no option but to undertake another day of shooting the next Wednesday. The weather was not so permitting on the Wednesday though, and the actor we had previously used was only available for an hour and a half, which severely limited what we could get done in such a short amount of time with poor weather. Willmott and I were forced to re-write the script to make it suitable to what we had captured knowing that the options had to be deleted, and replaced with a single linear narrative in which our protagonist faces three moral decisions.
After we concluded our shooting, I instantly knew that we did not have sufficient shots to complete the final script. Our shooting was time limited to two days and whenever our main actor was available. The editing therefore was fairly straightforward, with straight cuts conveying a simple but effective storyline.
If i were to start the project afresh, storyboards would be completed, actors would be paid and I would definitely allow more time for shooting, so that nothing is rushed.
As far as personal growth is concerned, I learnt a valuable lesson;
When concerning video, Planning is everything, something that I could establish in later projects successfully.
The second brief of the year set was “Performance video, where the syllabus stated were to effectively create a musical instrument using digital interfaces.
As soon as I read through the outline I knew I was destined not to enjoy this project as it has no interest in what I wish to do in the future. However, I set about completing the task by introducing something that I did enjoy; Poker.
Again using Qr codes, our idea focused on an interactive game of poker. The QR codes would be attached to the cards dealt out, and using cameras, the QR would be read and would trigger a sound based on the type of card dealt, i.e high card would create tension music.
The obvious choice to produce the music was Ableton live, as I have used the software before and is pretty easy to use. I began by playing around with some loops, mostly drums, to see what would be best to create tension. I recorded 13 different drum samples (13 different playing cards), each dependant on the strength of the card, some with faster beats, and the majority slower tempo. I used two different sorts of drumbeat in the tracks, one with an extra snare and the other represented a ticking of a clock to give obvious connotations of time and pressure. Although each drum beat was fairly similar, the bpm was different for each track.
When I was happy with the drums, I proceeded to create the bass lines. I began by playing about with various bass types, going through rock type and even jazz bass. However, in the end I had to create my own sound, not from loop. I chose the preset of “synth bass” and kept a constant beat with it for the low cards, and a faster one for the higher range of cards. After bringing both the drum and bass together though, I felt there wasn’t enough tension placed upon some cards, there should be more pressure evoked from the bass alone. Consequently, I chose to add one more bassline, this time resembling a heartbeat; one slow paced, one mid, and the other high. This gave me a great effect combined with the other sounds.
Having created a type of template for each card by layering both the drum and bass line on each QR, i then proceeded to add some more layers.
These included 5 different types of synth, all different melodies dependant on the range of card, with some being relaxing, slow paced and other being high pitched, sharp and quick. The synth would play every 30 seconds, so that the music was able to be looped and uninterrupted by poor continuity.
The final layer, which was only placed on king, ace and pocket cards was a violin which was based on the string orchestral part of a song named “Stress” by Justice. The title itself gives away why i chose this type of music, because it strongly evokes a feeling of unrest and nervousness.
Although I partially enjoyed creating music and learning how to use Ableton thoroughly, increasing my skill strength, I do not feel I have a future in either digital instruments nor making music. I also dislike having to create a “gimmick” type idea especially as I am more focused towards traditional video, but understand why the brief was set as it broadens a particular skill set and perhaps allows a wider thinking when approaching any other project.
The final and more enjoyable part of the year revolved around the professional project, in which we were asked to work with a client, producing a piece/pieces of work whilst budgeting, all the while progressing so that we were prepared for a future employment scenario.
Our group (Cat Abbott, George Darrell & I), began the project with the planning stages. We initially met with Matt Desmier (The founder of Meetdraw) and he posed the question: How do we get digital media companies known in Bournemouth? Matt then mentioned a publication he was working on which holds most of the digital media companies in and around Bournemouth and Poole. We then decided it was best to create a virtual version of said book, therefore building a website which held the geo-location and a representational video for each media based company.
We then set out arranging meetings with 5 companies, with the possibility of more to be added. We were only able to schedule four of the five meetings, with Thinking Juice not replying to our emails. We were content to produce a video for each of those companies but unfortunately out of those four, only two replied efficiently to our follow up emails, sending us the relevant work (showreels, fonts & existing designs) which was vital to completing each video.
Therefore, we prioritised the companies who had good communication, providing the previously mentioned essential content. These two companies were Redweb and Bright Blue Day, with Salad also in mind as their communication was still strong at that point.
Our idea for Redweb was to create a “Day in the Life” type video, in which we would film around the office, interview various employees and then ask “what does innovation mean to you?”
We began pre-production as soon as David Burton (Head of innovation) gave us the go ahead.
We filmed over the space of two days, taking various shots with the z5, Nikon and Hd Hero for time lapses. We soon learnt we were missing something we had previously tried to book out but failed; the fostek audio recorder with boom mic.
After a second shoot, editing went smoothly, and I completed the editing within three days, after normalising sound, matching contrasts and picture quality between all three cameras. We then proceeded to send the completed video to Redweb who said they loved it.
We began working on a concept idea for Clockworx & Salad and was due to start but they failed to send the relevant show reel and font packs. I then decided to turn my attention to Bright Blue day, for which I planned a time lapse tilt shift with added typography entailing what the company is “about”.
Based on the theme of their website, Bright Blue Day were eager to convey a sense of fun and ambition, but not wholly around the seaside. We therefore set about location hunting for perfect time lapses in and around Bournemouth and Poole.
We filmed on six separate days, whenever the weather would permit. The filming itself was relatively easy as both George and I own SLRs so we only needed to rent out a tripod.
We took around 15 shots, but unfortunately ⅘ were unusable, as we soon discovered the vital secret to a great tilt shift is of course height. The shots that were lacking height were not used as it would have looked out of place.
We then proceeded to edit and add the typography. Bright Blue Day were good in communication and they sent me the relevant font pack to use the same text, therefore up keeping consistency in their image.
Doing this, I learnt more than I have ever done using after effects, truly enabling me to get to grips with the software and understanding how it works. I am pleased with the final video as it is exactly how I imagined it when I first drew it out on a mood board.
I am very proud of the videos that were completed, and would, for the first time allow this work to be portrayed as part of my portfolio. It is not only the final product but also the planning, pre and post production stages of this professional level project which taught me valuable digital and even social skills; including camera, organisation, after effects and personal meetings with clients. Although I can honestly say that more work could have been done if clients had permitted, I am still very happy with the videos combined with Cat’s finished website.
