Monday, November 21, 2011

Project Reflection

I really enjoyed creating the portrait video project in this class and I am very happy with my final production. I have to admit that this project was challenging for me because I am not familiar with putting together a video and it was my first time working on Final Cut Express. However, with the help from the class (lab & lecture handouts) and friends, I was able to place all the pieces together.

I also enjoyed using the Zoom because the sound quality was just amazing, it was clear and loud, and extremely sensitive to the ambient sounds. Selecting music as a background for the audio was very tricky because I really wanted to bring in a cartoon theme song since AJ loves drawing cartoons, but at the same time the music cannot compete with the vocals in the audio. After skimming through all different songs and music, I decided to pick an instrumental piece so that there are no words in the music that would overlap with the audio. Shooting/filming was not as easy as I thought because some of my shots were not as steady and the picture quality blurred. Also I zoomed in and out of the shot to fast, so it definitely took some time editing out the "good" shots that I was able to use the clips for my video. I learned not to do that anymore. Overall, I had many challenges in completing this portrait piece but I think I managed it in the end. Nowadays, when I go to the movies, I actually pay more attention to the cinematic techniques and the choices that the editors/directors make, rather than watching the movie for just the story itself.
 =)

After making this video, I learned a lot about my partner AJ and that he is a very creative artist. I wish him the best of luck!

-DY