Another Jonathan project, another music video. This time around, it was AJR’s “Ordinaryish People”, the message of the song being that you can’t please everyone, and the only way for nobody to mind you is to be nobody, which isn’t sustainable long-term. Of course, I don't exactly have many close friends, and calling in favors that might not pay off isn’t my style after last time, so I knew I had to use some sort of puppet or figure. I figured I’d use a computer program I’m familiar with, Hero Forge, to make puppets that were visually distinct from each other, with their own outfits, signature colors, and signature patterns. After a relatively abstract intro, featuring panning shots of the school, our first puppet, wearing a jester outfit, appears on a yellow checkerboard background, spinning around in its choppier animation style. Footage fades in, panning down to me hunched over the desk, hands over ears. The puppet seems fed up with this, putting its hands on its hips as I slump over the table. Transition to a second puppet wearing a hoodie and slippers on a blue polkadot background, facing away from the camera, shooing it away like a bug. More footage fades in, showing me parading around the dining room with a milkshake. The puppet seems almost embarrassed by me, walking off-screen. A third puppet, wearing a letterman jacket and wizard hat, appears on a green diamond-patterned background, shaking its arms up and down in excitement. Then, the first of many missing footage disclaimers. Next up, I seem to get off a video call, leaning back and relaxing in front of a grey striped background. The fourth puppet, dressed very professionally, fades in, and I actually react to its presence, waving to it, before rubbing my neck as it shakes its head disapprovingly. Cut to a scene of me sighing, before typing something on my computer, before a pixelation transition to a screenshot of my home computer desktop, paired with the missing footage disclaimer. After a long stretch of missing footage, including a pink flower background and a brown camouflage background, we pick back up with me in front of a green screen, displaying the gray stripes from before, as the fourth puppet reappears. It shakes its hands before approaching to pat me on the shoulder almost condescendingly, before fading as I wipe off my shirt sleeve. The backdrop transitions from the gray stripes to purple zigzags, as the fifth puppet, wearing a fez and opaque glasses, lands on my back. I try to buck it off, but to no avail. I sit there, disgruntled, as the puppet waves its hand dramatically. A bit more missing footage, before archival footage and photos of past performances during my time in the drama club. Missing footage, and then I wake up in bed with a jolt. Cut to me walking down the hallway, breaking a pencil while doing paperwork, missing footage, and scrolling through notes before slamming my head on the keyboard in exhaustion. Another extended cut of missing footage, before I stand outside in my graduation garb, finally moving on from my self-doubt. I lip-synch to the music before the camera pans up, showing caps flying across the sky. The video ends with a still of that scene, displayed in beautiful sepia tone. I learned how masking worked in Premiere for one scene, to make the table pass in front of the puppet. I also figured out how to use the Roto Brush in After Effects, essentially making a green screen without chroma keying. I also played around with expressions for the title card, specifically wiggle and inertial bounce, in order to get that random dangling effect. I think I did a passable job on the “making puppets interact with me” aspect, especially considering I did it in one day. The lip syncing at the end was beautiful too. Unfortunately, about half the runtime is taken up by a big, shiny [FOOTAGE MISSING] disclaimer. A bit more interesting than a black screen, but still depressing. A bit of a minor problem in the long term, but one of the assets I used refused to render in a certain position, so I had to move everything over a bit. My main challenge with this “long-term” project, however, as it was for many prior projects, and as it probably will be for many projects to come, is that it simply wasn’t “long-term” enough. I had so many ideas to implement, a full overarching storyline, that I had to abandon partway through simply because I couldn’t finish it before graduation. Of course, part of that was my fault, as I interpreted “filming in class” as “filming on campus during class time” during my planning phase.

A high camera angle is achieved by placing the camera above the subject, looking down on it. This angle can make the subject appear smaller, weaker, or more vulnerable, or to establish a sense of surveillance, unease, or tension. On the other hand, a low camera angle is achieved by placing the camera below the subject, looking up at it. This angle can make the subject appear larger, more powerful, and dominant, or to portray a sense of awe or to emphasize the imposing nature of a character or object.

It's too late for me to turn this in, so I won't write a reflection for it. Nevertheless, I'll still post the photos here, for posterity's sake.