Video Reflection Learning Post

This term in Maker, we focused on showing our learning through videos. At first this seemed like an easy one for me – anything that involves less writing for someone who is dyslexic is a bonus. However, we quickly learned that there is more to making an amazing video than just having the camera rolling.

It may be easier to start with what DOESN’T make a good video. That would be my first videos where we tell a story about something we are passionate about. There is nothing in the frame except for me. Talking. Boring. The audio is terrible – the background noise is almost as loud as my speaking. I do an OK job of the story telling part in that I have a clear beginning, middle and end. But, I keep looking around and at someone just behind my camera, instead of at my camera. Also I filmed it in portrait mode and found out after the fact that you can’t rotate the view so you have to watch it sideways! Ugh! Here it is purely for (an embarrassing) example of a bad video.

Fortunately, I improved! On our next video assignment we learned about the importance of different shot angles to add interest and move your story forward. This was our “recreation” video where our group tried to create a copy of a video we were shown.

The different shot angles we used in this video help to create tension and suspense, without which, it would just be a silly video of a guy in the woods. I noticed another element of what makes an awesome video when I watched the original video in class with no sound: a soundtrack! When you watch this video without the music soundtrack, it has a completely different feel to it. This made me realize how important that background music we sometimes don’t even consciously hear is in making a good video and adding the feel you want to your video.

Our learning about how to make an awesome video continued in Alberta with our Ghost Town video. I must admit, this was one of my favourite videos to make. We had the perfect setting, an actual ghost town. We made an old-style black and white film in the genre of a silent movie, with the script showing in print across the screen. This video taught me that if you are going to use a theme for your video, in order to be awesome, you must be consistent with your theme across all aspects of the video, from the setting, to the filming, to the music. The printed words across the screen added visual interest to the video as well, which is really important if you don’t have a script or dialogue to tell your story.

I got to further experiment with adding visual interest and using film elements to drive your story in my Alberta video.

Once again it was important to have a really good soundtrack for this video as there is no dialogue for the story. The words on the screen and the music drive the story forward for the viewer. I also tried to make sure I had lots of different shot angles when I edited my footage to keep the audience engaged. Lots of different shots can change the audiences’ point of view and make them more engaged in what they are seeing on the screen. But you have to be careful – too much change in your shots or moving too fast will make your audience dizzy!

Good editing to make sure your footage keeps your audiences’ attention and matches your story became really important in the Alberta video, as well as the Live Event video, and Take your kid to Work video we did next. Too little footage and you loose the story you want to tell. Too much footage or too long on a particular shot, and your audience gets bored.

Both the Live Event video and the Take your kid to Work video taught the importance of trying to plan your shots to tell a story, even when you don’t have the control of a scripted video to work with. In both the Live Event video and the Take your kid to Work video, we were filming live events as they were happening. I learned the importance of planning your story and shots ahead of time to make sure you got all of the footage you needed to tell your story. You also had to think about what kind of film techniques you could use to add to the story. In my Live Event video, I used time lapse to set the story up as my live event was a Halloween fireworks show. I filmed the trick or treaters coming the door in time lapse to set the stage for the story.

I also used film techniques to help with a filming limitation for my Take your kid to work video. I knew ahead of time that there were going to be certain places I wasn’t allowed to film so in order to keep my story moving, I used different techniques to compensate, such as time-lapse and fast speed shots.

So, what makes an awesome video?  An interesting setting, a variety of different types of shots and different video techniques, a story that takes the audience along and keeps its attention. This must be carefully edited to make sure you have the right number and length of footage combined with different visual elements that fit your theme or genre. Finally, you have to add a soundtrack that gives the right feel to the video and enhances the story.

Next step…..seeing if we are successful in using what we have learned to tell our Chem Stories at the Winter Exhibition.