What I learnt making this video

When I decided to go ahead with my 'Inspiration' idea, I realised that I would have make sure I did a lot of planning to have the result I wanted.

This said I have learnt a lot through being every role in the making of the video.

Storyboarding:

This is not my strongest field in the sense that I find it hard to present my ideas visually but I know them well in my head. So most of my storyboarding was done using words to describe what's going on in each scene. I also thought that I will look into different ways of creating a storyboard so other's can understand what I am trying to create.

I have also taken out for the summer to read 'The Art of the Storyboard' by Hart so I can learn some tips and also with my aim to improve my drawing starting with the basics, I hope that I will not hesitate when it comes to storyboarding ideas because I have found that in the long run it is the main source of information that you can look back on if you need to backtrack your process.

I realised that if I had a much better idea of exactly how I wanted to shoot my scenes then I could think of extra ways to shoot a scene or make it more aesthetically pleasing. While editing I saw that there were many things I should have considered.

Filming:

As stated above, when it came to filming, I found it very tiring because if you have outdoor and indoor locations it means that much preparation is needed, especially when it comes to outdoor due to weather changes.

I have learnt that if I want to add effects to my video that I need to know whether I want to do it using the camera or film editing software this means that I will a better chance of filming my scenes correctly. Again this should be thought about in the storyboarding phase.

I remember how to set up equipment and carry it around safely so I know about health and safety. However, I now need to learn how to use a camera more skill-fully because this will make my editing process much better and also improve both skills.

When lighting the filming space, I was told that I created the 'Butterfly effect' with the way I set up the lights. This is where you have two separate lights on both sides lighting up a space and this creates a shadow effect, luckily this effect made my video look better. I know now that if I wanted to create that effect, I can but also I know how not to create the effect.

Editing:

I find this part the most interesting but also the most stressful because it is hard to judge your own work and know if it is to a standard that you want, though I have learnt that through more practise that I will get to the standard I can be proud of. 

I learnt how to use a video blur effect called 'Gaussian Blur' because I wanted to create the illusion of my subject dreaming in the scene. I do not know how to use it to an excellent standard but I learnt the basics and I am happy with it because there is only so much I could do with the footage that I had.

Since I was dealing with a dance scene towards the end of my video, I learnt how to visually emphasise the soundtrack and it definitely made a difference.

Idea of the video

The main idea of the video is how through a person being inspired by someone they look up to that they become more determined to reach their goal whatever it may be and deep down dream of that day. The main scene of the video was to be the ‘DREAM SCENE’ because it is to be magical and inspiring.

Michael Jackson inspires the subject of the film, so towards the end of the video we see the subject dressed as her idol and dancing out to one of his songs.

We used the outfit in the photo as the Michael Jackson outfit for the scene.

http://www.allforloveblog.com/?p=5377

Post-Video

I have filmed and edited my video but I do not feel it is at a point that can be finished. I am going to re-film some scenes and re-edit the video to portray the storyline better and improve the visuals.

http://vimeo.com/67846605

Link to my video, or part of the video

How I am Going to Improve My Storyboarding

While I was working in San Francisco, I was fortunate enough to meet an animator, Victor Huang who works in Weta Digital. We had conversations about art, doing an art course and ways of improving your work.

The advice he gave me on how to improve storyboarding and storytelling in general through your work is to watch movies with the audio turned off and see if you can understand the story conveyed in the scenes.

I am going to try this method with different videos and films, and analyse the camera shots, lighting and character expressions and see how all of this helps.