What does it mean to be Canadian? This question can be answered in any way you want; this is one of the many reasons I was so excited to start working on the “My Canada Video”.
This year is Canada’s 150th birthday, and in honor of this, a nation-wide contest has been launched for people to show their love to their home. The contest asks people to make a thirty-second video that answers the question “What Does Canada Mean To You?”. We could use any tools we liked to make the video, and I thought it was a really cool idea. Besides, it’s what Canada means to YOU, so it lets your creativity run boundless. You could talk about whatever you wanted (with some rules, of course), you could even make a thirty-second video on how much you love Canadian Maple Syrup.
First I started brainstorming on how I was to go about doing my video. I wanted to focus on how Canada is different from other countries because it means a lot to me. I looked especially at how some of our laws are different from America’s laws because I feel that it distinguishes us from them. I also wanted to touch on Canada’s beautiful nature, and how we Canadians protect it. After I sketched up an outline for my video I started to make a script. As I wrote I found out that putting my thoughts onto paper was harder than I expected. I had so many good ideas, but for me to cram them into a 30-second video seemed impossible.
Here is the first draft of my video:
To edit and make the video I got to put my movie making skills to the test. I used some apps called Explain Everything, and iMovie which allow me to edit animations and put together different video clips. I was pretty proud of what I had made, but there was still some things that I could have done better. For instance, I wasn’t physically in the video at all.
Since this was only the first draft of our videos, we had time for a peer edit session. This is where fellow classmates edit and critique your work. Ryan Dent watched my video, graded it on how well it was, and then wrote some notes on what I should change for the second draft
Here is what he wrote:
I agreed with most of what he said, I did feel like I needed to personalize the video, and I needed to make sure all my photos were copyright free.
I started on draft two by searching for new pictures that I could use to fill out the Canadian flag, ones that were copyright free. I also added some of my own pictures of myself enjoying Canada’s beautiful nature into the video. I wanted to personalize the video but I also did not want to change the idea and style of what I had already made. To involve myself in the video I added a clip of me waving a couple of Canadian flags at the beginning. I guess it was my way of saying, “Hello and welcome to my video”.
Here is the finished video.
Final draft
Overall I enjoyed making this video because I really got to think about what Canada means to me. I got to practice my editing skills, and I really enjoyed the creative process.
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