3:
a) Pudovski's concept of constructive editing was that long shots were too close to reality, so only close-ups, textures, symbols, and other selected details should be used by filmmakers. He believed these montages were the most effective way to convey expressively the idea underlying the complex jumble of real life. He manifested this concept by juxtaposing different shots in order to create new meanings of objects or actions. Yet he did not want to overuse this technique extensively because he thought it would be intrusive like D.W. Griffith's use of close-ups.
b) The Kuleshov effect is when their is a sequence of shots to suggests that their is a certain connection between these objects or people. This effect shows that juxtaposed images is what creates emotion, not the actor's performance. It is linking fragmented details to produce unified action. An example of this in a modern movie is the Tree of Life. In this movie, the greenery of the forest is sometimes followed by a sequence of different view of the outside earth. The lack of dialogue also supplements the idea that is trying to be conveyed in the film.
c)Eisenstein produced a collision montage with contrasting images, for that is what he believed life was all about.He believed shots needed to be contrasted to produce a new meaning; the shots couldn't be too linked. He considered it a mystical process. This is shown in the Odessa steps scene when Eisenstein begins the sequence with people running down the steps, but he contrasts this idea of a fast pace with a mother slowly picking up her injured child in the middle of the frantic scenery. This contrasts illustrates the emotion given between the mother and her injured child.
4:
a)Andre Bazin was frustrated with the much of the editing process. He believed that editing could destroy the effectiveness of a scene. Distortions in using formalist techniques, especially thematic ediing, can violate the complexities of reality. Formalists were egocentric and manipulative. Thus, in his own film making, he condoned the idea of subtle cuts to preserve the realism within the film, and the narrative.
b) Realist editors strive for continuity and coverage within their films; thus it gives a more realistic effect on the audience. In order to achieve this, the editing must be very subtle and not distracting to the harmony between the shots. In this case, the sensitivity of the artist. In this case, filmmakers must be modest, self effacing and a patient observer to see where reality leads. This, in turn, reflects the ideas of wonder and the mysteries of life which is the desired goal for realist filmmakers.
c) Some techniques that realist filmmakers use long shots, wide screen, lengthy takes, deep focus, panning, craning, tilting, or tracking rather than cutting to individual shots. Realist believe the best films were when the artists personal vision is held in delicate balance with the objective nature of the medium. Realist editing is powerful to the audience, for it can relate to them in the most powerful way as opposed to classicism or formalism.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Blinded- Short Film Critique
Rationale:
The short film that my group made was titled "Blinded". This film is about a generous man who gives his blind girlfriend his eyes so she can see the world and eventually marry him. Yet when, he does, the girl gradually veers away from him until they are no longer together.
Commentary:
My responsibility in this film was being the director. I was responsible for taking part in the script writing, but also made decisions during post-production such as: overlooking the shots by the cinematographer, telling the actors where to be and when, bringing the props needed, and organizing the location according to our desires. Last, i also overlooked the editing so the film would turn out as planned, which i thought was pretty successful.
Some problems that arose for me and my responsibility was getting all of our actors together at once. Our main actress was constantly busy which really tampered with our schedule to a point where some scenes were rushed. This was apparent in the 7th scene at the Burlingame train station in which we could only hint at what Lauren's mind set is as opposed to convincing to the audience her change in attitude towards John. This aggravated the plot line, yet it still was plausible due to this small hint. Another problem that we had was accessibility to props. As seen in the film, John's glasses constantly change throughout the film. This is due to the fact that original pair of sunglasses that we had were not available; thus, we encountered some continuity issues.
In some cases, we could not fix some of these problems. For example, we had to comply with our actresses schedule as opposed to our which really put us at a disadvantage in relation to time. In turn, we were unable to meet the required deadline and, as i stated before, disallowed us to develop some of our crucial scenes which jeopardized the plausibility of the plot. As for the glasses, we had to replace with other dark-looking glasses in order to cover our actors' face.It generally worked for the film and didnt penalize it in any significant way. Overall, with a good team effort we were able to finish the film with a good amount of success despite some rough times during production. On top of that, editing also really helped the success of the film as it was well put together and was put in a good sequential order.
Some problems that arose as a whole went hand in hand with the problems with the actors; we had missing shots by the time of the edit that we were unable to reshoot. This problem made it hard for our editors. For instance, in the third scene when Lauren is about to sit down she has her glasses on, but in the next shot she has them off.This continuity error forced us to put in an unprofessional cross fade in it. Another large problem was the recording the audio. Using the new adapter for the first time, we didn't really know how to use it properly; thus, the audio became unclear and constantly buzzed. This overall created problems with the quality of the film as it becomes irritating to the audience. When I tried to get rid of the buzzing noise in soundtrack pro, i was unable to because soundtrack pro takes in two recordings of audio while we mysteriously only had one while the other one seemed to not have recorded any audio. This problem was very apparent in the last scene, as we unavoidably had to keep raising and dropping the audio, so it would be completely silent in the background when John was talking, but when Lauren was talking their was a constant buzzing. Last, We also had problems with the camera. We kept interchanging between two lenses which was very distracting to the audience. We were forced to do so because the long lens blurred in any close up shots, so we had to use the wide angle lens. Although it is not a glaring problem, it is still a bit noticeable which took away from some of the quality of the film. Overall, these problems did have some effect on the outcome of the film, yet we were still able to get by by having a tied-together storyline.
The problems stated above were generally hard to fix, but we managed to handle in the post production stage. First, to deal with missing shots, we either cut the scene short before the noticed problem, or we used cross fades as stated before. Another unique way we dealt with this was in the first scene. In the first scene, we put titles between the missing shots, for it wasn't their, we would have had jump cuts. By putting in titles, the audience can assume that a certain amount of time had passed, thus, the reason why they are much further ahead. This also was generally a presentable way to present the titles as it continued throughout the first scene while establishing Lauren's daily problems dealing with her blindness. To deal with the audio, we chose either to take out the dialogue itself, or we put music over it to hide the buzzing sound. For instance, since we couldn't get rid of the buzzing sound, in the second scene, we put a very faint background sound so the buzzing seemed more subtle. Not only did this music hide the buzzing sound, but it also contributed to the overall tone of the scene; thus, it was a very affective method. On the other hand, their was some instances in which the buzzing sound was unavoidable, such as the resolution of the film. Last, we were unable to deal with the lens problem. Only in some small shots we could, such as in the first scene when Lauren falls, we put a blur filter on it so the depth of field is a little more hidden.
Despite all of the problems that my group and I faced, I thought that the film was compelling and pleasant. The plot itself was very attention grabbing, as you end up feeling really sorry for John, and end up hating Lauren. This attachment to the characters allowed the story to prevail itself. Along with that, i thought all of the shots and scenes we had were very purposeful, and i though that the editing was very solid. Despite all of the problems that we had faced, I thought we handled them to the fullest potential, and were successful at conveying the plot effectively. Contrarily though, i thought many improvements could have been made. To begin, I would like to have had a more reliable and skilled actress. Disregarding the fact that she was always busy, it was really hard to get her to convey our desired emotion. For instance, when she is breaking up with John, she kept smiling, which was out of character. In addition, we could have improved on developing the relationship between the two after the surgery a little more thoroughly. This would give a better justification of why she wanted to leave them. Last, I think we could have improved on the dialogue At times the dialogues is either very cliche or is unrealistic which took away from the validity of the scene. Despite all of the problems, i thought that our film "Blinded" was a good showcase of my groups' talent in film making.
The short film that my group made was titled "Blinded". This film is about a generous man who gives his blind girlfriend his eyes so she can see the world and eventually marry him. Yet when, he does, the girl gradually veers away from him until they are no longer together.
Commentary:
My responsibility in this film was being the director. I was responsible for taking part in the script writing, but also made decisions during post-production such as: overlooking the shots by the cinematographer, telling the actors where to be and when, bringing the props needed, and organizing the location according to our desires. Last, i also overlooked the editing so the film would turn out as planned, which i thought was pretty successful.
Some problems that arose for me and my responsibility was getting all of our actors together at once. Our main actress was constantly busy which really tampered with our schedule to a point where some scenes were rushed. This was apparent in the 7th scene at the Burlingame train station in which we could only hint at what Lauren's mind set is as opposed to convincing to the audience her change in attitude towards John. This aggravated the plot line, yet it still was plausible due to this small hint. Another problem that we had was accessibility to props. As seen in the film, John's glasses constantly change throughout the film. This is due to the fact that original pair of sunglasses that we had were not available; thus, we encountered some continuity issues.
In some cases, we could not fix some of these problems. For example, we had to comply with our actresses schedule as opposed to our which really put us at a disadvantage in relation to time. In turn, we were unable to meet the required deadline and, as i stated before, disallowed us to develop some of our crucial scenes which jeopardized the plausibility of the plot. As for the glasses, we had to replace with other dark-looking glasses in order to cover our actors' face.It generally worked for the film and didnt penalize it in any significant way. Overall, with a good team effort we were able to finish the film with a good amount of success despite some rough times during production. On top of that, editing also really helped the success of the film as it was well put together and was put in a good sequential order.
Some problems that arose as a whole went hand in hand with the problems with the actors; we had missing shots by the time of the edit that we were unable to reshoot. This problem made it hard for our editors. For instance, in the third scene when Lauren is about to sit down she has her glasses on, but in the next shot she has them off.This continuity error forced us to put in an unprofessional cross fade in it. Another large problem was the recording the audio. Using the new adapter for the first time, we didn't really know how to use it properly; thus, the audio became unclear and constantly buzzed. This overall created problems with the quality of the film as it becomes irritating to the audience. When I tried to get rid of the buzzing noise in soundtrack pro, i was unable to because soundtrack pro takes in two recordings of audio while we mysteriously only had one while the other one seemed to not have recorded any audio. This problem was very apparent in the last scene, as we unavoidably had to keep raising and dropping the audio, so it would be completely silent in the background when John was talking, but when Lauren was talking their was a constant buzzing. Last, We also had problems with the camera. We kept interchanging between two lenses which was very distracting to the audience. We were forced to do so because the long lens blurred in any close up shots, so we had to use the wide angle lens. Although it is not a glaring problem, it is still a bit noticeable which took away from some of the quality of the film. Overall, these problems did have some effect on the outcome of the film, yet we were still able to get by by having a tied-together storyline.
The problems stated above were generally hard to fix, but we managed to handle in the post production stage. First, to deal with missing shots, we either cut the scene short before the noticed problem, or we used cross fades as stated before. Another unique way we dealt with this was in the first scene. In the first scene, we put titles between the missing shots, for it wasn't their, we would have had jump cuts. By putting in titles, the audience can assume that a certain amount of time had passed, thus, the reason why they are much further ahead. This also was generally a presentable way to present the titles as it continued throughout the first scene while establishing Lauren's daily problems dealing with her blindness. To deal with the audio, we chose either to take out the dialogue itself, or we put music over it to hide the buzzing sound. For instance, since we couldn't get rid of the buzzing sound, in the second scene, we put a very faint background sound so the buzzing seemed more subtle. Not only did this music hide the buzzing sound, but it also contributed to the overall tone of the scene; thus, it was a very affective method. On the other hand, their was some instances in which the buzzing sound was unavoidable, such as the resolution of the film. Last, we were unable to deal with the lens problem. Only in some small shots we could, such as in the first scene when Lauren falls, we put a blur filter on it so the depth of field is a little more hidden.
Despite all of the problems that my group and I faced, I thought that the film was compelling and pleasant. The plot itself was very attention grabbing, as you end up feeling really sorry for John, and end up hating Lauren. This attachment to the characters allowed the story to prevail itself. Along with that, i thought all of the shots and scenes we had were very purposeful, and i though that the editing was very solid. Despite all of the problems that we had faced, I thought we handled them to the fullest potential, and were successful at conveying the plot effectively. Contrarily though, i thought many improvements could have been made. To begin, I would like to have had a more reliable and skilled actress. Disregarding the fact that she was always busy, it was really hard to get her to convey our desired emotion. For instance, when she is breaking up with John, she kept smiling, which was out of character. In addition, we could have improved on developing the relationship between the two after the surgery a little more thoroughly. This would give a better justification of why she wanted to leave them. Last, I think we could have improved on the dialogue At times the dialogues is either very cliche or is unrealistic which took away from the validity of the scene. Despite all of the problems, i thought that our film "Blinded" was a good showcase of my groups' talent in film making.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Trailer: Immortals
The trailer that i reviewed was Immortals.This film based on a mythological war, in which one hero tries to protect an entire human race. This plot was revealed by the simple techniques used in the trailer. As the audience, i was dragged in by the creative way they presented their narrative which was enhanced by the cinematography, sound design. and the editing. I was first intrigued by the slow motion effects and the peculiar positioning f the camera. This shot was placed under the ground as if those in the frame were floating; thus, giving it the surreal effect that matches the film. The scoring at this point is also very slow, allowing it to build up as the action builds up.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Run Lola Run Critique
The aspect of film that my group discussed was Acting within the film Run Lola Run. The way we approached this was not only by looking at Franka Potente, the actor behind Lola, but also by demonstrating Lola's progression throughout the film by the three sequences, and demonstrated how the surrounding characters helped Lola's character evolve. Considering the evolution of the German socialism genre, Lola represented a rebellious women who breaks through the social "norm" of women always relying on them due to a particular weakness they have. Although German's weren't fond of this film and its depiction of a German women, this strong-willed character develops an iconography around her name due to her aggressive, confident actions. Along with that, her exotic hair and rag-tag clothing supplements her ambitious, relentless character. She exceeds the parameters that women once had in society. Perhaps this iconic character allows for a revelation of women's' general image in society which, in turn, may have accurately suited Tom Twyker's intentions. She acts a tool of language that Twyker uses to justify his intended message behind the film.
Within the film, Lola is first characterized as a passive, yet confident person. This hesitance and uncertainty is what prevents her from saving both herself and Manni. This is shown throughout the whole first sequence. In the beginning when her father denies her the money, she is left with nothing to bring to Manni, thus setting herself up for a failed mission. Along with that, her uncertainty is scoped when she is uncomfortable with Manni's feelings towards her. Manni acts as a catalyst to drive Lola's emotions to commit her rebellious acts. In the second scene, Lola becomes very aggressive. For instance, she holds up a gun to her own father in order to get what she wants. Yet, in the second scene, Manni questions her love for him. This unbalance in mutual feelings for each leads to their failures, for in the last sequence, their success proves their excessive love for one another.
Throughout our presentation, i thought we touched on many key aspects of acting within this film. I thought our background knowledge of the actors was very appropriate for the project. This helped communicate to the audience the different relationships that the director and actors had in putting this film together as suspected. This was essential in this particular film because Tom Twyker and Franka Potente formerly dated each other; therefore, Twyker's vision may of women may have been skewed by his connection with Franka; perhaps he is implying that Franka has served him similarly to how Lola served Manni. Along with that, i thought we had a good, in depth analysis of Lola's character and how the game theory was applied in terms of the characters. We accurately demonstrated her growth and culmination throughout the film, as broken up between the different sequences. For instance, Anissa talked about her excessive love towards Manni. Then, i suggested that this love led to her aggressive behavior as shown when she threatens her father. Last, Maria summed it up by stating that she had supernatural powers (As shown by her screaming in the casino to get her way). These interconnected points allowed us to cover the dynamics of Lola's characters as well as the role of the other characters through their effect on Lola.
On the other hand, i thought their was some holes in our project. I believe that at points we veered away from the given topic, myself being a prime example. I realized that i tended to talk about camera movement and editing when making my points, and although they helped support my claim of Manni and Lola's relationship, it didn't cover how acting itself helped portray this. I thought we could've improved by talking of how Lola is an iconic character and how her actions helped communicate recurring motifs and themes as opposed to simply characterizing her persona. On another note, i thought we could have constructed the organization of our presentation a little better so the points were clearer and showed differentiation. Despite this, i thought our project was solid and generally clear to the audience.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Character in Time: Treatment: Decisions
Logline: A generous man has came across a conflict between his generosity and morals. His brother has been stealing from his family and is stricken quizzically on how to react. Mortgage is around the corner and he must make a decision.
Jeff has just concluded a meeting with his club on how much they have raised for their tsunami foundation. As he packs up he kindly assists the others with questions they have, in a very polite manner. As he leaves he receives a call from his dad, who asks " I left 10 for you and Jole for dinner on the table" and Jeff says "okay thank you, i'll talk to you later, okay bye".
Jeff gets home and searches on the table under books for the money (a dirty tint in background to enhance poverty), but he can't find it. His father walks in the door (pan) and places his hat on another table. While he asks about dinner, he takes out a bunch of napkins from his work out of a plastic bag and sets them on an old microwave. The father asks him "what did you get for dinner".
Jeff says "well i didn't get dinner . . "
"Well why not?"
"Well, Jo --" Jole walks by staring at Jeff with a scared leer. "I'll just eat leftovers"
Jeff is working on his laptop trying to finish his homework. His brother walks in very warily. He closes the door very gently he rushes to the bed and tries to convince Jeff not to tell their dad where the money has been going. Jeff informs Jole that he is putting this family in danger and that money is tight. His brother leaves on that note, stating at last "Thank you", and Jeff uncomfortably nods his head.
A week later, the door bell rings, and Jeff answers the door. A man is dressed in a suit asking for his father, so Jeff retrieves him. Jeff eavesdrops on the conversation and discovers that unless he pays his debts, they will be asked to leave and find a new home. Jeff looks at his brother, who is hesitant to make eye contact with him. His father walks back into the house after he shuts the door and questions where all his money has gone. Not a word is spoken.
The audience enters the mind of Jeff, as he becomes a narrator. He contemplates on what the right thing to do is. He struggles to make a decision, but looks to (A symbol) to help guide him.
two days have past and the father comes home and slams the door shut yelling. Father rages and asks questions of where his money has gone. Jeff asks "where is your work uniform". His father rambles through stacks of books and papers, throwing everything out of his way rambling to get the money. Jeff trembles in fear, and under pressure, he cracks and reveals that his brother has been taking it. His father turns his anger onto Jole, and all Jole can do is submit and return the movie.
Days past, and father solemnly gets up from a chair after paying the bills. Camera dolly into the room in which Jeff is crying as he holds a newspaper. Jole was caught in a shooting as a result of not paying for what he had borrowed.
* ending may need serious revision, but this is a basic framework for what i am trying to get through to the audience.
Jeff has just concluded a meeting with his club on how much they have raised for their tsunami foundation. As he packs up he kindly assists the others with questions they have, in a very polite manner. As he leaves he receives a call from his dad, who asks " I left 10 for you and Jole for dinner on the table" and Jeff says "okay thank you, i'll talk to you later, okay bye".
Jeff gets home and searches on the table under books for the money (a dirty tint in background to enhance poverty), but he can't find it. His father walks in the door (pan) and places his hat on another table. While he asks about dinner, he takes out a bunch of napkins from his work out of a plastic bag and sets them on an old microwave. The father asks him "what did you get for dinner".
Jeff says "well i didn't get dinner . . "
"Well why not?"
"Well, Jo --" Jole walks by staring at Jeff with a scared leer. "I'll just eat leftovers"
Jeff is working on his laptop trying to finish his homework. His brother walks in very warily. He closes the door very gently he rushes to the bed and tries to convince Jeff not to tell their dad where the money has been going. Jeff informs Jole that he is putting this family in danger and that money is tight. His brother leaves on that note, stating at last "Thank you", and Jeff uncomfortably nods his head.
A week later, the door bell rings, and Jeff answers the door. A man is dressed in a suit asking for his father, so Jeff retrieves him. Jeff eavesdrops on the conversation and discovers that unless he pays his debts, they will be asked to leave and find a new home. Jeff looks at his brother, who is hesitant to make eye contact with him. His father walks back into the house after he shuts the door and questions where all his money has gone. Not a word is spoken.
The audience enters the mind of Jeff, as he becomes a narrator. He contemplates on what the right thing to do is. He struggles to make a decision, but looks to (A symbol) to help guide him.
two days have past and the father comes home and slams the door shut yelling. Father rages and asks questions of where his money has gone. Jeff asks "where is your work uniform". His father rambles through stacks of books and papers, throwing everything out of his way rambling to get the money. Jeff trembles in fear, and under pressure, he cracks and reveals that his brother has been taking it. His father turns his anger onto Jole, and all Jole can do is submit and return the movie.
Days past, and father solemnly gets up from a chair after paying the bills. Camera dolly into the room in which Jeff is crying as he holds a newspaper. Jole was caught in a shooting as a result of not paying for what he had borrowed.
* ending may need serious revision, but this is a basic framework for what i am trying to get through to the audience.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Character in Time
This portrait is one of the famous jazz musician (trumpet player) Miles Davis. His beautiful music had innovated both the culture and general play of jazz music, and inspired the music that we listen today. In my story, this character represents the emotional distress that he is dealing with at the moment. As a child, he lived in a time of poverty and struggle to get through the day. His emotional engagement to better the world through his gift of music has harped on his mind on a consistent basis. His troubled past conflicts with his present, so he tries to break through, but he is constantly reminded of it through his experiences through music. He does his best to achieve happiness by pleasing others with his innocent, inspiring music. Flashbacks play a key factor in his because it conveys his personal past that reveals why he is so disturbed in the present. Time can be manipulated in multiple ways to amplify the meaning behind the peace: perhaps time can be sped up as he observes to reflect on his personal views on life. Contrarily, time can be slowed down to suggest importance on a particular moment that is crucial to the plot and how it can deeply effect the character.
Broadcast Critique (summer)
The segment that my partner and I chose to do the segment on was "Capuchino Summer 2011"; a piece about what students of cap did during their summer vacation. We came up with this idea because simply it was the only obvious one to us that wasn't taken, and we chose it because it was relevant and potentially interesting. It was very easy finding people to interview because everyone took part in summer one way or the other other, but we chose students from our own class because it was convenient and moved the process along quicker, for we knew that we would have to send it out on tape the first weak to preserve its content. Our questions were very focused on summer, and we formed questions in order to extract out the most interesting parts of their summer in order to make the piece more lively and fun for the audience, such "What did you wish you did this summer", and one funny response was "I wish i got kidnapped and put into a van and drove away".
The production during the interview was a little rough due to many factors. When we did the interviews, their was construction on all three levels of the campus, so during the interviews, their is faint sound of construction work going on that is a bit distracting. Another aspect that we could'nt very well control was the lighting; the clouds were out so it was somewhat dull. We definitely didn't like the outcome of this part because it didn't resemble the joyous ideas of summer: the sun is out with palm trees and vibrant scenery. As the man behind the camera, i made a decision to sacrifice following the rule of thirds and putting the interviewee off to the side in order to capture dual graphic vectors that covered the z-axis. On one side of the camera were lunch tables lined up, and on the other was a row of plants. I decided to do this because it called for a very interesting setting and shot, and also because it made the scenery very green which is generally appealing.
The script was a strong component of this segment. The opener was full of colorful words such as "bustling" and "adventure". Along with that, the voice itself was very fluent and jolly, producing a welcoming and exciting voice to grab the audiences attention. We also used voice overs to cover for the different questions that we asked our interviewees. These as well were well produced and welcoming. The grand "finale" was a good wrap up that really demonstrated the distinction and uniqueness of this summer in comparison to all of the previous summers as stated by the words "this summer will definitely go down in the memory books".
The main difficulty in producing this segment was finding b-roll do resemble what is being said, but we coped with this difficulty by retrieving clips and images from the internet (primarily google images and youtube). We placed these clips in the front and end of each individual interview to avoid jump cuts between different people answering the same questions. On the other hand, we didnt use any audio transitions, we thought it was unnecessary to do so because we just need audio for the corresponding interviews. We placed a subtle background music that was upbeat and summer-like vibe to it to match the segment itself, and in the end we raised its level to provide for a fuller effect and a finished feeling. For the images, we placed them directly after an interviewee mentioned something that deals with that particualar image.
Overall, i was proud of this piece because it was satisfactory and accomplished our basic goals. Though i wish we could have gotten our own b-roll footage and got out to beaches or so to maximize our experience, i was satisfied with the b-roll we ended up with and the content of the interviews was very good. If i had more time, i would like to go out and gather my own b-roll to bring the quality of the project up, and make the its correspondence with the interviews a little more close. The most important lesson that i learned from this project is to choose a topic that will enable you to get some good and doable b-roll, instead of taking from the internet.
The production during the interview was a little rough due to many factors. When we did the interviews, their was construction on all three levels of the campus, so during the interviews, their is faint sound of construction work going on that is a bit distracting. Another aspect that we could'nt very well control was the lighting; the clouds were out so it was somewhat dull. We definitely didn't like the outcome of this part because it didn't resemble the joyous ideas of summer: the sun is out with palm trees and vibrant scenery. As the man behind the camera, i made a decision to sacrifice following the rule of thirds and putting the interviewee off to the side in order to capture dual graphic vectors that covered the z-axis. On one side of the camera were lunch tables lined up, and on the other was a row of plants. I decided to do this because it called for a very interesting setting and shot, and also because it made the scenery very green which is generally appealing.
The script was a strong component of this segment. The opener was full of colorful words such as "bustling" and "adventure". Along with that, the voice itself was very fluent and jolly, producing a welcoming and exciting voice to grab the audiences attention. We also used voice overs to cover for the different questions that we asked our interviewees. These as well were well produced and welcoming. The grand "finale" was a good wrap up that really demonstrated the distinction and uniqueness of this summer in comparison to all of the previous summers as stated by the words "this summer will definitely go down in the memory books".
The main difficulty in producing this segment was finding b-roll do resemble what is being said, but we coped with this difficulty by retrieving clips and images from the internet (primarily google images and youtube). We placed these clips in the front and end of each individual interview to avoid jump cuts between different people answering the same questions. On the other hand, we didnt use any audio transitions, we thought it was unnecessary to do so because we just need audio for the corresponding interviews. We placed a subtle background music that was upbeat and summer-like vibe to it to match the segment itself, and in the end we raised its level to provide for a fuller effect and a finished feeling. For the images, we placed them directly after an interviewee mentioned something that deals with that particualar image.
Overall, i was proud of this piece because it was satisfactory and accomplished our basic goals. Though i wish we could have gotten our own b-roll footage and got out to beaches or so to maximize our experience, i was satisfied with the b-roll we ended up with and the content of the interviews was very good. If i had more time, i would like to go out and gather my own b-roll to bring the quality of the project up, and make the its correspondence with the interviews a little more close. The most important lesson that i learned from this project is to choose a topic that will enable you to get some good and doable b-roll, instead of taking from the internet.
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