What if you were given
three partners, a topic such as “separation,” and your job was to create a
video representing this topic as well as yourself, could you do it? Doesn’t
sound too bad right? Oh yeah, no verbal communication allowed. Now you’re
probably wondering how you would go about this and how could all four group
members be able to accomplish this goal. Everyone knows group projects are the
absolute worst. Oddly enough, it really isn’t that hard. Of course the most
difficult job would be to get everyone on the same page as far as topics go.
When everyone clicks in a group it makes life so much easier. Exchanging
contact information is also extremely important if you know you will not see
these people every day so constant contact is a must! So now you are all on the
same page, your topic is set and everyone has the direction they want to go in,
so what is next? Lights, camera, action! It is time for your close up! Let’s
begin shooting this masterpiece. Oh. My. Gosh. I don’t have a high resolution
camera! - Is what you probably said not even realizing your smartphone in your
pocket, you know the one you are always on Tweeting, creeping on Facebook and
Instagram, taking “selfies,” yes that one, has a camera and it is exactly what
you need.
Alright so you got your
hair done, makeup is flawless, and you are wearing that crisp new outfit you’ve
been waiting to show off. You are ready to film when you realize, you have no
idea how to go about this. It seemed so easy in class when you talked with your
group and everyone is bouncing ideas off one another. You’re sitting in your
living room with your dog’s asking them to hold the camera for you and what a
half ass job they did. So you are stuck wondering how you could film yourself
or at least show your own perspective. That is where you need to get creative.
It is difficult to film yourself especially if you are just using your
smartphone. Some things to keep in mind when doing so is to always, always,
always shoot in landscape or horizontally as opposed to vertical. This will
prevent your video from having that empty black space on both sides and will
make it easier for the world to see that beautiful face of yours. Also,
shooting from different angles is always a cool idea. Lay your phone on the
ground, propped up on something, or even tape it to the ceiling if you have to.
Do something creative and different that is going to separate your video from
the others. Another recommendation would be to shoot the same scene multiple
times. Maybe you weren’t as perfect on that first shot as you thought and it
took four to five tries to get it down. Practice makes perfect and what better
way to practice than shooting the same seven seconds of your video over and
over again!
So
now you have all these clips filling up the storage on your smartphone or
camera and you need to put them somewhere else. A flash drive is the perfect
solution to this problem. Always make sure to save your projects to a flash
drive that way you will always have it in case of an emergency. When using a
flash drive especially for a project like this one, a 16GB drive is the best
choice because the videos take up a lot of space especially when the editing
period takes place. Getting all the random videos from one device to another is
tedious but worth it in the long haul. The last thing you would want is to be
the one person from your group who doesn’t have their materials or videos
because you don’t have or use a flash drive. Don’t be that guy/girl.
Just
when you thought the fun was over it comes time to edit your videos and sort
them so that it makes sense. Editing using iMovie is not as scary as it looks.
It actually can be quite enjoyable. It offers many different features that
allow for a lot of creativity. Adding transitions from scene to scene or sound
effects and audio are just a few. Perhaps the most useful tool is the one that
allows you to cut your videos at specific spots and pull out certain points of
the video to rearrange your clips in any order you do so choose. iMovie also
automatically saves your work too which is always helpful. Deciding which clips
to go where and with what features can be difficult to decide but once they are
all where they need to be it always looks great.
Once
the mashup of the personal clips are assorted accordingly, the group needs to
put their 60 second clips into one file and begin a process of cutting it down
to 3:30 using clips from everyone. By far the hardest part of the project as
using the works of four individuals and trying to make them flow with one another
so that it tells a story is not the easiest task in the world. Make sure to be
helpful and give constructive criticism. Everyone needs to participate and
contribute. This part of the project is way easier when you have an amazing
group.
The
final project is now complete and it feels very rewarding. All the effects are
in place with each clip and from start to finish it appears to be a true work
of art. Each group member congratulates one another and feels as if a
fifty-pound weight has been lifted from their shoulder. The group work is
almost done except for the final presentation to the class where they most
likely will give a standing ovation for this masterpiece. Not only will people
be able to view it in class but also on different sites such as YouTube. From
the very beginning this project could have appeared to be scary and difficult
but at the end it was an incredible result that was rather enjoyable.
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