Imagine that you are putting together a puzzle. The puzzle is extremely complicated with lots of pieces. You are simultaneously painting the image that is on these puzzle pieces. Also, you are DJ-ing a bumping playlist whilst painting the puzzle’s image and putting together the puzzle pieces.
You are editing a video.
The experience of imagining, creating, collaborating, shooting, and editing a video (especially a group project video) to completion can be an extremely taxing and tedious process. While it feels very satisfying to complete and put the puzzle pieces of all the different elements together, the process itself can be aggravating, to say the least.
Video is similar to interpersonal communication. You can witness it in real time, and see real people demonstrate any given topic of communication. Photographs and writing are effective communication tools, but video can combine both of these elements to create a more cohesive and powerful vision. More people can connect and relate to video content because it is easier to demonstrate and, therefore, pick up on and read various social cues. For example, it is usually easier to infer context if you watch a thirty second video about a person’s life as opposed to viewing thirty photographs. The video content tells a lot about the subject. While a picture is worth a thousand words, one must consider how many frames per second, or pictures per second, create a video? Videos are an effective communication tool because people can absorb the information with greater ease than just pictures, or just words. The powerful vision that writing and photographs work together to create enable the viewer to understand and draw information from the video.
Before the video process can begin, writing plays an essential role in the planning of a video. The video must have purpose. Writing down scripts and outlines is a good way to plot out the video and determine what shots are necessary to obtain. Film as a medium gives the creator the unique ability to approach a topic from literally any angle; the creator can provide visual aids to help understand abstract concepts. Brainstorming with the group
was an awesome and collaborative process. We communicated very well both over
messaging and in person.
Shooting and coming up with shots that infer your video’s concept effectively can be a difficult process. Working by yourself on a project does usually mean a more streamlined vision, but working collectively with group members can broaden your film’s horizons and improve the overall quality. After shooting comes editing the clips brought together by the group members under the unifying topic or theme. This is
the most
arduous portion. Working with a group whose visions were
aligned so nicely made the shooting process much easier on all of us. We knew
what shots we needed to get, and the shots we got all reflected parts of our
lives. Breaking up the concept of the Politics of Womanhood between four
informed and empowered women was amazing. We all examined different parts of
our life that had the power to be shaped by misogyny. While for some of us,
that was the way that younger siblings could be taught to embrace the gender
norms of what girls and boys should play with, or what kind of stories they
should read. Others, how our personal relationships can turn sour when
undermined by traditional gender roles and how that plays into the identity of
womanhood. Others still, how being yourself, bold and empowered, can work
against you in the real world when you go to apply for jobs. These visions all
seem very different, but they worked together to create a wide lens-view of
what it means to be a woman, and the politics that are now attached to it.
Editing is the most
important part of the process. If you have amazing footage, but it’s edited
together poorly, the message of your video won’t be nearly as powerful or
effective. On the other hand, if you have not-so-great footage, but it’s edited
together well, the video still can pack quite a punch. That being said, there
needs to be a certain rhythm and continuity throughout the editing that brings
everything together. Each editor will have their own version of what that
rhythm is. Trimming each clip, finding the right place to pan in or out, or to
choose a new shot to work with, getting a solid transition that furthers the
video and is aesthetically pleasing are all parts of editing. Then there comes
finding music that fits, determining the tone of the video and how people will
perceive it. Finding shots that look
good is one thing. The soundtrack of a video is something that people will hear
but only take into their brain subconsciously. It’s easy to think about what
certain imagery means. It’s another to analyze how a camera angle or a music
change alters the perception of the video.
That being said,
and taking into consideration all of the aspects of this project that made it
difficult and annoying and stressful, I love puzzles. And painting. And DJ-ing
a bumping playlist. And doing all of those things at the same time. Putting
together a video is so satisfying. It’s creating something from nothing; you
get to imagine whatever theme or message you want and share it with the world,
through a platform that reaches the most audiences.
The self-portrait
experience was a similar vibe. Getting to record my day and think about the
different things that I wanted to show to reflect myself through film made me
really happy. It made it easy to find the many wonderful things that I have to
be thankful for in my life.
Overall, working on
this iMovie project was very satisfying. My group was amazing and we really
worked together very well. Despite the many challenges and complications some
group members faced while editing, at the end of the day the video came
together with stellar results and an important message. See for yourself!
