Water is Wide Reflection

For the Water is Wide video, Michaela and I felt that the song told the story of a boy  who gets lost in his own imagination. The boy pretends that he is a knight in the mideveal ages, and at the beggining, there is a battle breaking out. After that battle there is chaos and destruction throughout the land, so he goes on a journey, defeating his enemies along the way. He then faces the final boss and wins, saving the land. Michaela and I had mutual feelings about the video, so it was somewhat easy but diffficult to make at the same time. While it was easy establishing the story, it was hard finding pictures to go along. We didn't really want clips of the orchestra playing, so we had to find many pictures to cover the whole song. Other than that the video was enjoyable to make and I am happy with the outcome.

From Other Videos

From other videos that I cannot demonstrate in my own work, are things like on-set lighting, and audio. We never used camera lights in our videos, so I was never able to show how that could emphasize a mood in a video. And while we did use music in some of our clips, it was mostly background music. Filler music. I never really focused on fiding certain sounds to suggesta mood in my clips. But I know that these and many more can definetely improve a video.

End of the Year Reflection

Looking through the enitre year and everything i've done, i've realized that my knowledge and skill in video production has changed for the better. Early in the year, I really learned the importance of shots and angles. I had known about them and that they effected a video in a certain way, but it wasn't until I really started filming that I really understood just how those could make or break your video. On my first film, you can see that I didn't necessairily pay attention to this detail, because my video wasn't so great. On my second video, i learned how to put several different clips together. I started to become familiar with Premiere Pro, and using the editing tools to improve my videos. Throught the entire video we had to use "in" and "out" points in order for the video to come together smoothly, and to look impressive. Later in the year, after really knowing Premiere Pro, it is obvious that my skill with those tools has improved. My videos look a lot cleaner and it all looks much more pleasing. Good examples of using these in and out points are in the Over the Shoulder project, where in and out points are essential. If you don't use them right, or time them right, your video will just not look good. I also learned how to use a green-screen. That was something completely new to me. It was a small challenge though, because trying to edit out the green background wasn't always easy. Sometimes things blended in too much, and would get erased with the screen. I used the green-screen effect in the Cutural Holidays video. Every background in the video was brought in and made to look like I was in different spots throughtout the world. I also gained more knowledge about lighting; If you should place the camera in the shadows or the light depending on your shot. I learned how music can definetely improve your video. That is can emphasize different moods, and cptavate the audience. I learned how to actually work the camera, using a tripod, and how all these small factors play huge roles in the production of a video. I learned a little about how certain colors have hidden messages, and can say something about a character. That they way they dress, or talk, or wear their hair can help the audience connect with the characters, which alwyas makes for a better video. Although it ended in failure in my Cutural Holidays video, I learned how dialogue queues can help or hurt you. That though, would be an example of learning from my mistakes. Which is also a huge factor in video production: learning form your mistakes. You cannot expect to know everything from the beginning, so it isn't until you jump in and try that you can improve your skills. Mostly though, I really learned how to work together. You can always have your own knowledge on how to do things, and make your own videos, but it isn't until you work hard with others that you really gain appreciation for videos. It's not an easy task, and even harder when you need to agree with others. But that's what makes it so beautiful. If you make a video on your own, it could be good, but once you include other perspectives and outside knowledge, your video has so much more potential to be great. You can see where others come from, and apply those ideas to your videos. And the payoff is so much more worth it. I have personally gained an understand of people, and through this process of working with them, have made connections with more people than I even thought I would talk to. I have felt what it is like to be under pressure, how to work hard, and how to celebrate the good things to come from them. I have grown in my own ways from this class, and have planned on a future from it. I have more self-confidence in my work, and I hope that I carry these values with me in my life outside of highschool and beyond.

Final: Code Red Parody

Our final video is a parody of the actions to take during a code red. It is meant to be light-hearted and funny.

Absract-The Water is Wide