Overall Filming Process
I think overall the filming process went well. I managed to film more than enough footage for my video and what i got was exactly what I’d hoped for. I did not need any assistance or props whilst filming, but i did need a few group members to volunteer to be filmed for a shot i needed. Incase I wanted to change anything, a friend said i could use her clips to fill in any space if necessary.
Capturing the Footage
To capture the footage, a group member connected the camera to a PC via a USB cable and copied the clips from the film. The clips were saved onto the desktop and then moved onto an external hard drive. From here, I used the member’s hard drive to copy the files and move them to my desktop where I could save them to my own hard drive. I can now start to piece together the rough cut for my video so that i can make my final video.
Editing Process
A lot of what we filmed turned out to be one long clip when it was opened in Adobe Premier. To fix this problem, I used the razor tool to cut the clip into smaller parts. Now that each individual clip has been sectioned off from the others, I can select the ones I want and start to make my rough cut.
To make my rough cut, I used the selection tool to place the clips in the right order on a sequence according to my storyboard. My rough cut was over 2 minutes long and so I used the rate stretch tool to shorten some clips and gave others headers and footers. My overall time became slightly over 2:30 and so this was enough to begin editing my final video.
This is how my rough cut looks completed.
The audio track I am using in my final video is from the CD “Hybrid Theory” by Linkin Park. The clip is from the song ‘Cure for the Itch’. As this is copyrighted material, I cannot use my finished video in a public display without the permission from the owners. I will use this track because it has a very relaxed beat and it fits in well with my clips. It creates a happy and interesting atmosphere to the clips of the park. This will appeal to my target audience because it is by a well known band for the age group and it could persuade them to think there is something in the park they will enjoy.
When I finished my rough cut, I copied the sequence into a new project in Premier. The first thing I did to begin editing my final video was add headers and footers onto all of my clips so that video transitions could be placed over the top. I repeated the Cross Dissolve a few times in my video because I like the idea it creates. Because of the way the clips blend together, it makes it seem as though everything in the park follows on from the last and where ever you look there’s always something to keep you interested. This will appeal to my target audience because they won’t want to be bored. For changing a clip from a sculpture to scenery, I used Dither Dissolve because it shows that not everything is the same. Where you will walk is just as important as what’s there. Again, it helps to keep the audience interested in the video because the effects aren’t the same throughout. Using the same transitions all the time would make the video boring and my aiduence would loose interest. When changing to the clip of the group members running past a sculpture I used Cross Streatch to add variety to the video and to give the clip a different perspective from the others. As the clips merge together differently to the others, it will stop them from losing interest and give these clips a different point of view to the rest.
Using my rough cut as a guid, this is how my final sequence turned out.
I only used a small amount of text in my video because i didn’t want my audience to be reading too much and missing what the video was showing them. By only using the minimum amount of text, I can use short, simple points to get my message across and at the same time allow my audience to see what is in the park. All the text is in white for it to stand out against the natural colours so it is easy to read for all. It does not spoil the images as the font is not too big or bold.
This is the text i was origonally thinking of using.
I then tried this text so it was more readable.
This is the text style i settled on as it is easy to read against any colour with the help of the stroked boarder.
By sticking to my storyboard and only having to delete one clip, I managed to get my final video to exactly 1:30. I am happy with how the final video looks
Exporting the video
I exported my finished video twice to give different qualities and file sizes. The first was exported using the default settings on Premier which gives good quality but a large file size.
This would not be suitable for the web so i exported it again but this time into Windows Media Encoder. This is more suitable for viewing over the web but the quality is damaged. The good side to this is that it is a smaller file size which means it’s quicker to download or stream. To make the file size even smaller for viewing across the internet, I have dropped the frame rate to 15 fps (frames per second)
The problem with doing this however, is that only users with a PC using the windows operating system can view it freely. Mac users would have to download extra software in order to view the video and so it won’t appeal to my complete target audience.
Directors Commentary
Instead of recording myself talking for the commentary, I will write over my clips so it is easier to edit if I don’t like what I’ve done. i can now write my script that i will add over the top.
1st clip: I used this shot as my opening clip because I wanted an establishing shot of the park to give my audience a clear idea of what the park looks like. I think it worked well as it is a 360 shot of the enterance of the park. It gives the impression that the park has thisgs to see from the moment you arrive.
2nd clip: I used this as the image for my first sculpture because of it’s interesting design. It would grab the attention of my tagret audience and would make them want to keep watching too see what else there is.
3rd clip: i reversed the speed of this clip because it not only shows my audience more of what the park contains, it shows them that the complex twist of the branches comes from something so simple.
4th clip: I thought that this clip was interesting because it looked like a giant hamster wheel. This would catch the attention of my audience and keep them engaged in the video. I think this worked quite well and the next clip follows nicely as the transition wipes in the same direction as the movement.
5th clip: This clip shows that the park can be enjoyed by my target audience. By showing my age group in the video, it makes a direct reference to my audience and this helps to persuade them to visit.
6th clip: The ‘dip to black’ transition used for this brings the video back to the more serious reason of visiting the park. I think it works well with the audio.
7th & 8th clips: I used this clip at the end of the sequence because this is what I saw at the end of the park along with the swans. It gives my audience the feel that they have gone through the park how i did whilst I was filming. The way this clip was shot gives a calming feel to the end of the video. I think it works well with the image of the swans. The black fade in between the clips represents that these two things are next to each other in the park and as soon as you look away from one, you see the other.
I can now add this over my video to use as the directors commentary.
This is what my directors commentary now looks like with the script over the top. I used a vivid yellow and thick font to make it visible over the clips and other text. This is just to make it easier to read.
To check that my video fits the theme of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park website, i have taken a screenshot of the website and added in a shot of my video. I think is looks quite well.
