Week Six and Seven

So not going to lie, it's been a tough few weeks on my end. Apart from being quite ill and spending a lot of time in bed watching Metalocalypse and being a hermit, I received an FN mark for my first screen fundamentals assessments. This didn't exactly go down well, which turned a bad week into a worse one.

On the other hand I completed my second assessment for that class and surprised both myself and Peter by not only passing, but doing quite well. So there's that.

Although I never wanted to use it, I have filled out my special consideration form and begged a friend to let me borrow their Canon 600D, and I should (crossing all the fingers and toes here,) be able to complete a new photo sequence in the next week. I can see now how I can improve, not just to pass the assessment, but to actually do a decent job on it. Lynda.com has been my go to for camera tutorials now as well as editing videos, so all I must do now is come up with (a way better) story for my photographs, and use different framing and technical skills to make it engaging and interesting. So no pressure, Hayley.

In other news, I decided my original story idea and synopsis for my screenwriting class weren't up to the standard I expected of myself, and after getting the feedback from assessment one for that class (which was the synopsis) I realized the weak points in my story, and how it was a little confusing and not too well thought out. So instead of agonizing over how to fix my overly flawed idea, I decided it would be much better to come up with a new one. After spending many hours conceptualizing different ideas, some pretty cool and some definitely the product of too much caffeine and not enough sleep, I rewrote an entire new synopsis for a new story, which I'm actually happy with. After I finish procrastinating by pouring my heart out into this blog, I can move onto doing a character breakdown and treatment, which I'm confident I can finish today, meaning I can submit an assessment a whole week early! Go me!

In week six I completed and submitted my first assessment for DVP12A. We were given a design brief, and had to use the assets provided to us, (including rushes, images, music, sound FX and some dialogue) to create a 20 second TV promo. Over the two weeks we had to complete the project, I created two different promo's, trying to use different and new skills in the second one, which I ultimately submitted. I followed the brief exactly, including using both the logos, having a moving (animated) title sequence, complete with the time, day, channel and title of the show, using multiple rushes and images from the assets folder and layering the whole thing with music and sound FX. Although I've come a long way from where I started, my goal is to improve on my editing skills greatly, in order to create something engaging, that flows. Right now I have a very basic, caveman level of understanding, allowing me to cut, lay key frames, layer music and special effect, create titles etc. While this may satisfy the brief I given, I do feel my project lacked style and rhythm, looking more like a 2002 windows PowerPoint than a professional TV spot.

One thing I did find useful was to cut the footage to the sound or beat of the music. This showed my how important the rhythm of an edit is. I started off my laying the music track down in my timeline first, then selecting the clips I wanted to put into the sequence. Whether this helps or hinders me in future projects remains to be seen, but I've certainly learnt the importance of matching all the audio up with the visuals of the edit.

So rough patch aside, I'm ready to pick myself up off the ground and give every project everything I've got, because my Mam didn't raise a quitter, and I've got assessments to finish.

#blog #screengraphicsandediting #ramblings