This week in class we briefly looked at b-roll footage and how it can be used as an asset in our project. I have a habit of periodically collecting footage for no reason. Over the first semester break I shot 3 hours of footage from my overseas travel, with no real purpose for the footage. I usually just find that when I am in a situation where someone else would take a photograph, I film. This was useful when we made our video essay for project brief two as all the footage I used I had already acquired. This weeks lessons reaffirmed to me the importance of acclimating content.

It is always daunting entering the editing suits with hours off footage which needs to be cut down, but it is worse finding out that you don’t have enough. Having lots of assets also allows for errors that are often unforeseeable. For example I have had instances where I shot great audio but the footage wasn’t focused. B-roll and excess assets would allow me to salvage otherwise unusable content.

So, this week I have been concentrating on collecting. The branches of quite broadly, but I think that the term ‘collecting’ groups my progress this week and hopefully what I will continue to do in the following few weeks. I have been collecting sounds, background noise and interviews. I have been collecting visuals, faces and experiences. And I have been collecting ideas, those of my own and those of others.

For the next few weeks I will continue to collect.