First Group Video Project

My project partners Ash Hsie, Jordan Baese and I all worked on a group video project for VM613 Emerson's Introduction to Video and Sound. It was a really neat experience writing, producing and editing the video. It was also a really nice opportunity to meet and work with other students.

It was my acting debut, and was quite fun. The voice I use in the video is a made up one. I don't sound like that in real life. The Prof. for the course, asked why I used a weird voice. And my only explanation was it had turned into a motif for the day. When ever I did the lines opposite one of the other guys, I always used a different funny voice.

 

Nick Carlisle one of our classmates wrote up the following, I though his constructive criticism was right on:

This is frickin' hilarious.  Like, wicked frickin' hilarious. 

If I may, let me offer some constructive criticism (some of which I offered in class last week), then I can gush about the awesomeness of this project.

Okay, I mentioned that the shots that have Tom on it are very dark, and offer a low contrast. Upon viewing on my computer, it almost looks as if gain was increased either on the camera or in post during these shots. Which is fine, but it doesn't jive well with the shots of Ash, which have a very crisp and well-lit contrast. I know you wanted to present the illusion of Tom being in the dark without power, but again, lighting that scene with blue gels and very powerfully could create a sense of moonlight through the window. Of course, that might be pointless, as it's obviously daytime when the phone call comes in. So that might need to be worked on by a) having Jordan filmed outside at night and Ash being an overnight technician, or b) not go for the blue gels, and create the illusion of daylight under the desk where Tom is, but still refrain from using any gain (again, I'm only assuming you did).

I know we talked a bit about the intro when Ash walks in, and how there was that jump cut when he took off his jacket, and it looks like you changed that. But after watching it again, it almost seems to me that you could experiment with elimating the entire walking-into-the-office part, and simply open with Ash at the desk, dreading his upcoming shift.

Also, in light of all this copyright stuff, I don't think the name "Bentley" needs to be included at all, both on the screen, and via voice. You could make up a fake company, and thus avoid any legal wheelings and dealings. I know this is just a class project, so it's not a big deal now, but it could pose an issue if you do something like this in the future.

There were one or two shots of Jordan where he seemed overly backlit. The only thing that resolved this was that we, as viewers, knew he was the only character who was outside, so knew it was him, but his facial features sometimes were a bit washed out. I personally know the Kendall T stop area very well, and could tell where specifically he was, but most viewers don't, and I think it would have worked better if you stuck with consistent sunlight angles, even if it meant he looked like he was in the same place he was before. I don't know if that makes sense...I just got the feeling that he was wandering around aimlessly, and we got different lighting in each shot. Also, he was wearing a Yankees hat. What's up with that?!

Okay, so I thought this project was incredibly well-paced. Incredibly. It starts off with just a couple of calls, and builds into a crescendo of phones ringing, cuts to people back and forth on the phone, and to me, the climax of this all was brilliantly edited, where Jordan starts to say something like "I want to hear more about the thong" but his voice gets cut off at JUST the right moment, where he doesn't actually say "thong," but you just know that's what he's saying. Brilliant!!

Just my two cents.  Good job, guys.

Comments

[4gb sdhc video card]

It was a really neat experience writing, producing and editing the video. It was also a really nice opportunity to meet and work with other students.