Let’s just start at the beginning.  What tools do I even have for video?

• iPhone.  I think that will basically be what I use to shoot anything.
• Sound recorder.  I can use this for any foley (HA!) sounds I might make on my own.
• Windows Movie Maker.  Seems useless unless it’s just a slide show.
• Wondershare.  trial version only, somewhat fancier Windows movie maker, leaves a watermark, Some people might like this, but I’d rather spend my money on something more than what is essentially Windows movie maker.
• Mpeg Stream Clip.  Seems okay for clipping scenes but NOT stringing the clips together, awkward and clumsy.
• My husband.  He just ordered me a copy of Adobe Premiere, hopefully this will be able to help me work around the quirky bits I found in each of the other free pieces.  I’m fairly familiar with adobe products, so this will just be one more.

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A little review, and some more info on the analyzing a scene three ways assignment.

Here is the clip again

This assignment was all good, until I encountered the problem with saving multiple clips strung together in Mpeg Stream Clips.  It was a real cluster, I ended up using an inferior, trial version of software to upload my watermarked clips.  Yuck.

I was pleasantly pleased when I saw that my hypothesis about Sound+Visual=More Effective story than those pieces separately.

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I tend to agree with “I have the impression that more tilts are down to the right than to the left, perhaps suggesting the characters are sliding perilously into their futures. Left tilts to me suggest helplessness, sadness, resignation. Few tilts feel positive.” in Roger Ebert’s How To Read A Movie.

I wonder too, if right doesn’t seem more ‘right’ (ha ha) because “All over the planet, nine out of 10 people, on average, favor their right hand for writing, throwing and so on.”   Familiarity increases how much we like something.

Examples of Editing Techniques was an amazing lesson in editing techniques.  the wigs and facial expressions were especially effective in punctuating the seriousness of proper editing…I kid.  It was nice to see different techniques in one place and be able to compre the use of each, seeing how they might work in my pieces as we move along.

“Benign man who loves babies.” ummmmmmm Alfred Hitchcock’s facial expression in Hitchcock Loves Bikinis was AS CREEPY when looking at the mother and child, as it was looking at the bikini clad sun bathing beauty.  there was something off about the timing of the smile, it was slow and sort of sneaky.  That’s not to say I don’t get what he was saying.  It does make sense that the context (baby vs. bikini) of part of a scene would translate into different emotions for the viewer.

Continuity errors–I Love ‘Em!  I will say, my husband is a videographer and film editor so watching most movies with him is a lesson in continuity.  Sometimes he will miss one and I’ll spot it, that’s a WIN! in my book.  It totally makes sense that continuity errors would, and do happen.  We are human, our brains can only process so much information, it gets missed, but then sometimes it is found.  It’s kinda like a stamp printed upside down.  Not usually a big deal, but sometimes it can throw part of the story out of whack.

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Youtube genres are REAL!

Well the idea of a genre is real, and Youtube is real, so they must be real right?

Right.

But no one said they were traditional, or conformed to any preconceived notion of genres.

Hey, I explain more over here, in my post Youtube Genre Action.  Go there now.

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Over here are two ideas for upcoming Video Assignments.

The reason I am thinking about these two as jumping off points is plain and simple; they look the most interesting.  Who doesn’t love an educational video?  And I’d love to try my hand at making a pseudo silent film.

I am slightly unnerved about this section, but am ready to tackle it!

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The daily creates continue to be a source of good fun and inspiration, even if I do change them up sometimes…HEY! That IS the inspiration I guess.  The two I did this week can be found here.

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All in all this week went pretty smooth.

Yay.

I am a little afraid of what is to come.  Wait, afraid is the wrong word.  I am apprehensive of the upcoming weeks.  There aren’t that many weeks left, there are still so many things to do, learn, and go over, it’s a bit daunting.  But I know it is do-able, and will be fine.  I will be fine.  My comfort zone continues to be pushed, expanded and pounded on with a VERY LARGE hammer or something like that!

It’s all good.