5/12/14 - Reflection and Evaluation
For my project, I don't think it really required too much critical thinking. The most critical thinking I had to do in the whole process was writing the paper because I'm not a very good writer, (as my grade shows), and the capstone paper intimidated me. However, I am very good at communicating, therefore, I used that skill to find my mentor, Amit Botadkar, who is a freelance videographer. With his help, we collaborated on a short film for my physical project. I very much loved the fact that he wasn't going to intervene very much since he wanted me to feel like it was my work. I also loved that when he did intervene, it enhanced the video. This project definitely brought out the creativity in me because creativity is something very crucial to film. It's what makes the audience crave your work more.
Personally, i gained a lot of experience with film making. I started as someone who only had imagination, and through this project, I became someone who turned that imagination into a video. I learned that there are 3 basic and crucial steps to any film: pre-production, production, and post-production. I didn't learn much socially except for maybe the part where I met my mentor and because friends with him. However, intellectually, I learned how much television can really affect a person starting at a young age, and leaving a lasting effect.
One of the two challenges I faced was the paper itself. As mentioned above, it intimidated me. I was never that great of a writer and now I had to write a paper of such great caliber. Although I've had to write research papers before, this one really did scare me because it was something that would determine whether or not I move on or not. The second challenge was how to make my video. I was very concerned with what I wanted, and how I was going to achieve it. I wanted my video to be creative and meaningful, happy but also hit the heart. As I am writing this now, my video has already gone through all 3 stages of a film, and is up on Youtube.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Friday, May 9, 2014
May 4 - 7, 2014
I added the new scenes in and polished off anything that seemed out of place. I was finally done with the video and for someone whos never done this before, i was pretty proud of myself. The preproduction of the video was somewhat challenging because i had to visualize how i wanted it and put it on paper. However, the most difficult part about the whole project was actually shooting, which is the production stage. I didn't know how the clips would actually turn out when I put them in Premiere and i wasn't sure if the lighting was good. Also, i felt that I wasn't as organized with my shots as I should've been. Again, the most fun part was the editing. Although there were obstacles in my way, I managed to find ways to overcome with tools from Premiere I didn't previously know about. The whole experience was like a dream and it really has been a goal of mine to shoot a film like this. I hope that I can continue to work on short films like this either as a job or as a hobby.
April 26, 2014 & May 3, 2014
For both these days i shot two different scenes to add to the project. For April, i went back to Eggettes to film a scene of him leaving and getting into his car. The next scene was shot on May 3 where he returns home and consults his roommates before going to the final location. These scenes seemed to link the story together better. This took 2 hours altogether.
April 21 - 25, 2014
During these days, all i spent my time doing was editing. I spent 2 hours each day working on it. I believe that the most fun part of any film project is the editing. I was luckiy to get my hands on a copy of Adobe Premiere Pro CC from my brother since he works for Adobe. Its an amazing editing software to use and i first learned and used it when i was helping my cousin who supplied me with the equipement.
I sorted out all the clips that i would actually use and put them all onto my timeline. Watching them then, they were very less than perfect. I was excited to see what the end result would be. There were little issues of brightness and focus but my major concern throughout all of the editing process was the audio. I realized that there were some clips where you could hear a leaf blower loudly in the background. Figuring out how to cover that was very challenging. As for the rest of the audio, i used tooks like DeNoiser, EQ, and Dynamics to help lover background noise and hiss, as well as set a certain volume in the clips where any nouse below that point is cut off.
Upon finishing the editing, i realized my video was only a little over 4 minutes and it just seemed not enough. I knew i had to do more.
During these days, all i spent my time doing was editing. I spent 2 hours each day working on it. I believe that the most fun part of any film project is the editing. I was luckiy to get my hands on a copy of Adobe Premiere Pro CC from my brother since he works for Adobe. Its an amazing editing software to use and i first learned and used it when i was helping my cousin who supplied me with the equipement.
I sorted out all the clips that i would actually use and put them all onto my timeline. Watching them then, they were very less than perfect. I was excited to see what the end result would be. There were little issues of brightness and focus but my major concern throughout all of the editing process was the audio. I realized that there were some clips where you could hear a leaf blower loudly in the background. Figuring out how to cover that was very challenging. As for the rest of the audio, i used tooks like DeNoiser, EQ, and Dynamics to help lover background noise and hiss, as well as set a certain volume in the clips where any nouse below that point is cut off.
Upon finishing the editing, i realized my video was only a little over 4 minutes and it just seemed not enough. I knew i had to do more.
April 21, 2014
This was the shoot day. At 11:00 AM my cast and crew were already at my house and we were out the door. Our first location was Eggettes in South San Francisco. We spent about 2 hours shooting at just this one location. It was an interesting experience because i had never done this before and for my first time shooting i had to do it in public. When i actually shot, i found it difficult to apply what i wrote down on my shotlist. I was able to make it manage though.
By 1:00 AM we were on our way to our next location, which was a park in Cupertino. We had to go that far because the weather around our area was a bit too foggy and cloudy so therefore we had to go further. Before actually arriving at the park, we had to stop by a yogurt shop to purchase the most inportsnt prop of the video.
For the park location, we went to Memorial Park in Cupertino. It was a park that was both beautiful and close to the store where we got yogurt. Once there, i planned out where i wanted the scenes to be. Luckily, this park had aisles of trees that created a path that was almost just too perfect. Shooting, once again, proved difficult. I was also concerned with the quality of the audio because there was really bad wind noises in the playbacks.
By the time we were done, it was 4 PM. Excluding the amount of driving time, we spent 5 hours shooting.
This was the shoot day. At 11:00 AM my cast and crew were already at my house and we were out the door. Our first location was Eggettes in South San Francisco. We spent about 2 hours shooting at just this one location. It was an interesting experience because i had never done this before and for my first time shooting i had to do it in public. When i actually shot, i found it difficult to apply what i wrote down on my shotlist. I was able to make it manage though.
By 1:00 AM we were on our way to our next location, which was a park in Cupertino. We had to go that far because the weather around our area was a bit too foggy and cloudy so therefore we had to go further. Before actually arriving at the park, we had to stop by a yogurt shop to purchase the most inportsnt prop of the video.
For the park location, we went to Memorial Park in Cupertino. It was a park that was both beautiful and close to the store where we got yogurt. Once there, i planned out where i wanted the scenes to be. Luckily, this park had aisles of trees that created a path that was almost just too perfect. Shooting, once again, proved difficult. I was also concerned with the quality of the audio because there was really bad wind noises in the playbacks.
By the time we were done, it was 4 PM. Excluding the amount of driving time, we spent 5 hours shooting.
April 20, 2014
After planning my shoot day, i needed equipment. For equipment, i got to use my cousins professional wedding videography equipment. Ive only used his equipment once before when i went along with him and his partner on a wedding shoot as a shadow.
I spent an hour with my cousin going over all the equipment and figuring out how they work. We started off with the tripods. Tripods are actually a lot harder to figure out. Next, we went over lenses. He provided me with two types of lenses, one with zoom and one without. The camera was a Canon 60D. He taught me how to use his mics next. He provided a shotgun mic and a clip mic.
For the hour that night, i spent it putting the camera on and off the tripids, connecting and disconnecting the mics, setting everything up and cleaning everything up. The equipment was very intimidating at first but it became easier as i practiced. What was difficult was figuring out the camera settinsgs.
After planning my shoot day, i needed equipment. For equipment, i got to use my cousins professional wedding videography equipment. Ive only used his equipment once before when i went along with him and his partner on a wedding shoot as a shadow.
I spent an hour with my cousin going over all the equipment and figuring out how they work. We started off with the tripods. Tripods are actually a lot harder to figure out. Next, we went over lenses. He provided me with two types of lenses, one with zoom and one without. The camera was a Canon 60D. He taught me how to use his mics next. He provided a shotgun mic and a clip mic.
For the hour that night, i spent it putting the camera on and off the tripids, connecting and disconnecting the mics, setting everything up and cleaning everything up. The equipment was very intimidating at first but it became easier as i practiced. What was difficult was figuring out the camera settinsgs.
April 1-10
In total, i spent an hour each on making my shotlist and storyline. After meeting with Amit last time, he told me i needed to type out my story so its neat and precise. The storyline was easy to write out but the shotlist was a little harder to create because i had to search up different angles and there names, then visualize how i want my video to look, and finally apply the right name.
For my shotlist, i created it in accordance to my storyline. I made sure to visualize my storyline and picture how i would want my shots to be placed during the actual shoot. Having never done this before, it was a little difficult because i didnt want to place too many shots but also not too little. Also, i wanted to make sure that i used the proper shot for the scenes.
In total, i spent an hour each on making my shotlist and storyline. After meeting with Amit last time, he told me i needed to type out my story so its neat and precise. The storyline was easy to write out but the shotlist was a little harder to create because i had to search up different angles and there names, then visualize how i want my video to look, and finally apply the right name.
For my shotlist, i created it in accordance to my storyline. I made sure to visualize my storyline and picture how i would want my shots to be placed during the actual shoot. Having never done this before, it was a little difficult because i didnt want to place too many shots but also not too little. Also, i wanted to make sure that i used the proper shot for the scenes.
March 23, 2014
I met with Amit once again to show him my storyline. We met back at the same Starbucks as our first encounter. For an hour, i described my storyline as well as how i cane to this story and why. For the next hour, Amit pointed out all the flaws and what could better enhance the end result and quality. This was very interesting because his professionalism really showed.
I met with Amit once again to show him my storyline. We met back at the same Starbucks as our first encounter. For an hour, i described my storyline as well as how i cane to this story and why. For the next hour, Amit pointed out all the flaws and what could better enhance the end result and quality. This was very interesting because his professionalism really showed.
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Jan. 11, 2014
I finally created a story that i want to try and film. At first, i wanted to create a PSA video about either bullying or suicide. However, i knew that it was only something i thought would be convenient to do, and not what i actually wanted to do.
I am heavily influenced by a group known as Wongfu Productions. Their work is very inspiring and i knew i wanted to create something close. Therefore, i decided to write a love story with a twist. In total, this took about an hour to come up with and to connect.
I finally created a story that i want to try and film. At first, i wanted to create a PSA video about either bullying or suicide. However, i knew that it was only something i thought would be convenient to do, and not what i actually wanted to do.
I am heavily influenced by a group known as Wongfu Productions. Their work is very inspiring and i knew i wanted to create something close. Therefore, i decided to write a love story with a twist. In total, this took about an hour to come up with and to connect.
Dec. 4, 2013
This month was the first time i met with my mentor, Amit Botadkar. I was introduced to him by one of my teachers, Ms. Chin. They are friends, and she recommended I contact him because Amit is a freelance videophotographer who does mostly music videos and feature films.
For our first meeting, we met at a Starbucks on Howard. I had spent 2 hours with him. We first introduced ourselves. After that, i explained to him what the capstone project was and also my intentions. I told him I was interested in creating a PSA, public service announcement, video.
After introductions, Amit told me a little about film. He explained that there are three crucial stages: pre-production, production, and post-production. He described what each stage was, then told me to come up with a story of my own as he wanted to solely be a guide.
This month was the first time i met with my mentor, Amit Botadkar. I was introduced to him by one of my teachers, Ms. Chin. They are friends, and she recommended I contact him because Amit is a freelance videophotographer who does mostly music videos and feature films.
For our first meeting, we met at a Starbucks on Howard. I had spent 2 hours with him. We first introduced ourselves. After that, i explained to him what the capstone project was and also my intentions. I told him I was interested in creating a PSA, public service announcement, video.
After introductions, Amit told me a little about film. He explained that there are three crucial stages: pre-production, production, and post-production. He described what each stage was, then told me to come up with a story of my own as he wanted to solely be a guide.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)