Video project

WEEK 1 - For this project, we need to create a film that represents who we are as a person and artist. The video will be a self promotion video of sorts, that could then be featured on our websites as a part of our portfolios.

The brief is to feature 4 different elements into this video - Identity, work, process and discovery. All these elements combine to show who we are as artists. In our first session, after being introduced to the brief, we discussed the possibilities for each of us in this brief and our initial thoughts. I shared that I wanted to incorporate my illustration into the project, which we then discussed would be interesting to explore in a different format in animation, which is something that I have never done before, but is something that feels like a natural progression of including my illustrations into a time based media project.

The first task on the first week was to explore and have a look at different video making apps on our phones. On the app store there are lots of different apps available, most of which I found to do the same thing, and quite basic in terms of what could be done on them. I have used a simple app called youcut before, and found the rest of the free apps available to be quite similar. I do think that apps such as 'youcut' will be useful in this process, as the app is quite simple and straightforward to understand. I could cut the footage, use transitions, change speed and add music and sound effects.

Something that I felt would be really beneficial for me for this project, but also potential future projects, would be to buy a lightbox. Because I want to make the animations hand drawn, I knew that this could be a useful tool, so I bought one.

WEEK 2 - Our second session took place online, and we spent the session discussing our findings from the first week, and discussing ideas for the rest of the project.

In our first year video project, the main focus was to create a storyboard. This year we are also incorporating storyboards into the work, but more to help guide and plan the final work instead of being the project itself. For the second week we were tasked to make a storyboard to explore ideas that could fit into each of the categories for the brief.

As a part of the storyboard task, I decided to try out a simple exercise in animation by using small pieces of paper and my lightbox. I used my own hand while drawing as a reference, and created a really short clip to see if my idea of how to make an animation would work

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I again used the app 'youcut' to create the clip. I inserted the pictures I took of the drawings, and put their duration at 0.01 seconds so that the images would only be featured for the minimum amount of time so they could flow from one to another.

I decided to add a line that is being drawn by the pen in the drawing to each frame, and re insert it into the clip.

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WEEK 3- On week 3 we had the opportunity to work with the programme premiere pro so we could be introduced to the basics of the software and the processes we would need to go through for the project.

We spent the session using colours to learn about inserting footage, transitions, and other settings.

notes from the session

colour test.mp4

WEEK 4- After last week's lesson, I gathered some footage of some of the elements I would like to include in the project. What I have gathered so far fits mostly into the 'identity' category in terms of the four parts of the video.

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WEEK 4 -

For the fourth week I continued to gather footage to work with on the project. I also continued to work with the animation that I have been experimenting with. Because some of the footage that will be included in the 'indentity' portion of the video includes footage of my friends and I watching rugby, I decided to create an animation that I could incorporate into that section, that I could include side by side, or maybe layer with the other videos.

For the animation (below) I took a clip from youtube of the Wales v Scotland game, put the video on the slowest speed possible, and then proceeded the tedious process of pausing the video on every frame and taking screenshots on my laptop. I then cropped the screenshots and printed them out. I used my lightbox for the next step. So that the drawings have only small differences between them, I decided to trace the outline of the images, and then add the details and colours afterwards. - here are the results below.

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Week 5 / Lighting

For the fifth week on this project, we looked at some different lighting techniques that we might consider for the video. We, like last year, discussed chiaroscuro, the technique that uses strong light and darkness to convey depth in the images that can be seen.

We also looked at different sources of light, their names and purposes. I drew this quick diagram in the session to keep note of what the lights in the 3 point lighting technique are.

Week 6 / Sound

Before this week, I had mostly concentrated on the visuals of the video, focusing on the animation that I have been working on, and the phone footage that I have been capturing. Sound, I think is something I will consider as one of the last aspects of the video, as I look at the video that has been edited and decide which sounds will go best with that footage.

we also had a look at this video, which is a music video from the 90s. The song uses different sounds of people cutting down trees to make the music. The video helped to raise awareness of deforestation. This video shows how there is potential to use the sounds of our everyday lives, which we gather in our footage, to make something that is something interesting to listen to, as well as looking at.

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As an example, in this video I am rolling ink on a piece of cardboard for printmaking. This process has a distinct sound, which I would like to keep in the video.

week 7

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Developing the animation further.

I made the rugby animation with the intention of using it alongside footage that is related to it. I used a clip of my friend and I making a toast while out watching the six nations, and layered the animation on top. I liked the idea of combining both, which combined two elements of the project, my identity, in the footage of me and my friend going out and having fun supporting Wales, and also the animation as an example of my work. The element of discovery also comes into play as animation was such a new thing for me at the beginning of the project.

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notes on how to do this

week 8

notes from the session on how to insert the logo.

In the corner, I inserted my own logo. I wanted to use some kind of branding for the video, to emphasise on the fact that this is a promotional video for myself as an artist afterall.

The workstation on premiere pro. The logo can be seen in the corner.

In this screenshot, I layered two videos on each other, an animation of a hand drawing, and me drawing in real life.

I learned how to do a triptych for the video, inserting three clips of a recent trip to london, in front of a video of a live band playing.

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More footage gathered -

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With the above clips, in the video I decided to put them in reverse. This way it would look like I am putting the work up on the wall instead of taking it down. I think it also gives it an interesting and weird look for the video.

This is a gif I made of two separate but similar prints.

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Studio2.mp4

The video itself

Originally, I had gathered so much footage for the project that the video lasted over 16 minutes. This is much too long for the promotional video I wanted to make, so I made a copy and edited on that one so that I could keep the original 16 minute version (a kind of 'director's cut' version) while also making a shorter and punchier video.

In terms of sound, I wanted to include some kind of music. I chose this song (but the instrumental version) to put in the background. The song is from one of my favourite West end musicals Waitress, which I saw in London with my Mum in early 2020. I am including this song, but I am also going to be layering other sounds too, such as the sound of ink being spread, the sheep in the shed, and turning pages in the zines. On top of all of these audios, I am going to add a voice over of me talking about the footage in the video.

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Here is the voiceover I recorded for the video. I decided to record it in a video instead of voice memo, as I found this easier to get onto the computer. I wrote a short scrpit beforehand to have a small idea of what I wanted to say. I tried to include all four elements - Identity, work, process and discovery in the voiceover as well.

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The ending of the video is what I attempted to make as a nod to classic sitcom opening credits, where after they have introduced the actors and the title of the programme, they have a small clip of the characters laughing or doing something casual in the end. I wanted to add a quite but nice moment at the end of the video to convey that side of myself as well, as most moments in the day are quieter.

Here is the 16 minute version of the video, which ha not been edited much, and doesnt include the music and voiceover.-

speed demo.mp4

REFLECTION

After finishing the project, I am quite surprised at how pleased I am with how it turned out. Before the project I had only used premiere pro once a few years ago, so it didn't come easy for me at all, but as we were guided by our tutor, and given the chance to experiment over the weeks, the software became a bit more manageable for me. At the beginning of the project, I also felt a bit uninspired. I didn't know what footage about me would be interesting to include in an artist promo video, but as the weeks went on, including parts of daily life and the processes of my artwork is interesting enough and represents who I am as an artist and person.

After collecting the footage, I had to be quite brutal and less precious about things when editing and cutting down on the footage that I was going to use. I included footage that I considered to be important in each category, such as videos of me drawing for the process, gifs and footage of me putting up work for the work section, animation for discovery, and more personal videos for the identity section, which shows my daily life and the kind of things that inspire me. Although I think the video is quite simple, I do think it's a quick look on who I am, and I do think it's quite successful in what I was trying to achieve, which is promoting myself in a fun and simple way.

Some of the things that I think I would improve on next time is spending more time refining the editing and including more creative transitions. I also think that I could have spent more time on the storyboards, but I ended up just seeing how things will go and adding things as they came to mind. I think I have learnt a lot from the video project, in terms of software but also in skills that could now be useful for me in the rest of my work. We looked at elements such as lighting, as well as combining video with work we already have. Knowing how to make a video on premiere pro is something that could be useful for me in my future career, if i need to make a promo video or work further on animation.