Project 1_Paige

Week One

I started this week by exploring different video techniques and angles. I particularly focused on zooming and panning. A few of the biggest challenges I faced was remembering to keep my camera horizontal (as apparent through the two vertical videos) and attempting to keep my hand steady. 

I also completed a storyboard panel. My main idea was to capture a soccer ball and the various activities that accompany it (ie dribbling, scoring). Though I'm sure the final product will differ from the story board, it's a good starting point from which to begin filming. 

 

  

Week Two

This week, I began by collecting all of my raw footage and importing it into Premier. My goal was to create a rough map that- more or less- aligned with the storyboard I had originally created. I have never used Premier before so it was a bit difficult figuring out the mechanics of it. In some ways though, that just makes the payoff of figuring it out that more enjoyable. For instance, figuring out how to change the colors of the footage- such as making the clip on the right black and white- was extremely gratifying. 

Week Three

    One of the first things I did this week was edit my sound. When filming- because it had been in the Rec Center- there was this nearly constant buzzing in the background. Though it wasn't too noticeable, I wanted to eliminate it as to isolate the sound of the soccer ball hitting the wall. I went in to each clip and used the razor tool (with timeline visuals) to cut the sound directly after the impact of the ball. I found that music helped fill the empty space and make this direct cut style less apparent. 

    I also explored video transitions/templates available on Adobe Stock. I wanted to achieve that 'sporty' look while also avoiding the overdone fifa template screen. I thought the split-frame template (shown below) was the perfect solution as it provided movement while honing in on the subject of the video, the soccer ball. 

Week 4

    I researched the 4D artist, Douglas Gordon, a little bit. Though many of his works are not available to the public, he has numerous stills/descriptions on his website. One that caught my eye in particular was from "I had nowhere to go: Portrait of a displaced person." Gordon seems to focus on a single appendage- a hand, a foot- to capture the entirety on the human spirit. He allows smaller parts of a whole to speak to the entirety of the individual.

Douglas Gordon, I had nowhere to go: Portrait of a displaced person, 2016 (stills). https://gagosian.com/exhibitions/2017/douglas-gordon-london/

He also used a similar split-screen template and the wide range of emotions shown encapsulates why I love it. It allows the viewer to be pulled in multiple directions at once, making it almost difficult to know, precisely, where to look.

Douglas Gordon, Phantom, 2011 (still). https://gagosian.com/exhibitions/2014/douglas-gordon-phantom/

Gordon utilized a similar tactic in "Phantom," in which he focused on an eye, and used that singular body part to communicate a larger emotion or idea.

I also finalized my video project and uploaded it as a mp4/YouTube link. There were a few final color corrections I made, so that the video did not seem so dull. Other than that, the last changes were minor; a timing issue, deleting an unnecessary clip.