During this course I learnt how to use a variety of editing software that I think was really valuable. I learnt the ideas and the best ways to edit both video and audio during class and lectures, which was really helpful when both filming/recording and putting together final products. I also learnt outside the classroom, for example learning how to use Audition and Premier Pro myself that I found really handy. I think these two learning techniques go hand in hand. You learn the more complicated stuff while you’re at uni and then outside of the classroom you teach yourself how to put the complicated things you’ve just learnt together. I found this worked quite well for myself this semester. It allowed me to put my own spin on my learning.

The thing I found most challenging was the blogs. I found it hard to consistently sit down and reflect properly on each and everything that I had covered throughout the week. I found myself having to play catch-up with my blogs every now and then as I had let it slip away. I especially found it hard to motivate myself to write just one blog at a time. Because it doesn’t take long, it was hard to find the time to fit such an easy task in – because it would take no time at all so I was always ‘doing it later’.

Throughout this semester I have discovered that I only enjoy editing bits of material that I actually find interesting. I know that seems like an obvious point, but I know people that just love editing. Whatever they get, they love putting it together like a puzzle. However, if I don’t find the material interesting to enjoyable to watch, editing it seems like the biggest drag. For example, I have done a bit of freelance editing for an Agricultural Specialist (some interviews he took and what not) and I found it very difficult to sit myself down and actually go through and edit it all together because the material was so dry and boring. However, editing small pieces that we hve filmed at uni during class (like ‘The Pursuit’ themes film) were so much easier to edit and put together because I enjoyed the actual footage itself.

I watched ‘What Happens In Vegas’ on the weekend – what a great movie. I was watching it, and I really enjoyed the end part when, as they credits role, they go through what actually happened the night the two main characters, Jack (played by Ashton Kutcher) and Joy (played by Camera Diaz), actually got married and begun the entire plot of the movie.
I realise that there are a few movies that run under this formula, the ‘Hangover’ trilogy being one of them. I think it’s a great way to build mystery and intrigue within a movie, and then maintain that mystery.
Throughout the entire movie (the Hangover especially) the audience is kept guessing about what actually happened, and they know as much as the characters themselves. Another take on this that I have found, is used for comical benefit, (cringe comedy), when something is revealed to the audience and not the character, and the audience watches as the character slowly realise what they have already known. For example in ‘Rush Hour 2’, Carter (played by Chris Tucker) is talking to two Karate Master’s who’s names are Mi and Yu. For the benefit of the joke, subtitles are put on to show the audience the different spelling, but obviously Carter has no way of knowing and so the joke goes on as he tries to talk to them and ask for their names.

I think it’s quite clever when movies pull off either of these ideas. I think the first works really well because while it keeps them watching and guessing what actually happened, they are not left feeling like they haven’t finished the movie at the end. They do get that final bit of closure and find out what actually happened without ruining the plot of the movie. The latter works purely for comical relief. It also makes the audience feel special in that they know what is happening and it makes them more inclined to enjoy it as they are ‘in’ on the joke.

But what I really love about realising this little factor when I was watching ‘What Happens In Vegas’, is that even my favourite movies can be brought into the context of learning.

This project had elements that were challenging and elements that were relatively straight forward.
I found learning how to work with audio alone quite challenging as I had never done it before. I had to learn from scratch how to use Audition by watching a few different tutorials. However, while it took a bit of time to learn the outline, the basic idea is quite similar to that of Premier Pro (Timeline editing wise) so it didn’t take too long to get the hang of (the very, very, very basic hang of).
I also found it relatively difficult narrowing down our ideas. We started quite broad in class with the general concept of ‘young-ins‘ using social media as a way to gain attention and focus the spotlight (for however limited time) on themselves.
But we managed to in the end (after doing a heap of research you just find the idea that interests you the most).
On the other hand, my group was really good at working together and dividing the work. During class we figured out our skeleton and then decided what each of us would do before we met up. Everyone arrived to the meeting on time, and with all their work done (something that is apparently rare within University group assignments). My group just made doing the work and putting everything together so easy.

Throughout this project I learnt how to manage my time quite well (the fact that it was the only assignment I had left for the semester made it easier to prioritise). But as it was a group assignment, you had to get the work done in a reasonable timeframe because you can’t let the rest of your team down. It really brings out a sense of camaraderie when it comes to timing.
I also learnt how important it is to teach yourself the skills to complete a project (for example learning how to use Audition). I mean this in the sense that during High School everything is pretty well spoon-fed, and this project gave me the opportunity to take initiative and teach myself (with the help of Lynda).

My favourite part of our final edit is the concept of it. I really like the idea that it’s a ‘breaking news’ story. I also really like the way that we have incorporated real celebrities talking about nude selfies to make it seem like they are actually being recorded by us,I think the way that it has been edited with background noise makes it seem as though we are really talking to them.

However, I feel like we could have tried to find a little bit more information and bulk it up a bit and we rely on theme songs to build time. While this does at comical effect, because they do go for a very long time, I think this joke could have been made once, not on both occasions.

Overall, I really like this project and am quite happy with the outcome. We divided each section of editing and then brought it all together at the end, and I think the final cut flows really well together.

I was recently telling someone how much I watch ‘F.R.I.E.N.D.S.’ (This comes up more than I’d like to admit because I watch it so much). I always find that talking about how much it consumes my time to someone else that is equally as addicted is fun and easy, and a great way to make an instant friend (classic) because you’ve always got some funny point or joke to talk about. But the rest of the population think you’re crazy. They don’t understand how something can be so addictive (that’s not explicitly made to be). I mean, I watch F.R.I.E.N.D.S. when I want to watch something, when I’m bored, when I go to sleep, when I’m busy doing something mindless (like cleaning my room or folding laundry), I watch it all day, every day. I’ve seen it so many times that I don’t actually have to watch it, I can just listen to it and know exactly what’s happening/about to happen.

But for the first time explaining my, for lack of a better word, addiction, I had another element to think about. How a tv show has managed to hold not only my attention, but the attention of the enormous audience that follow it. But not only as it was release, but years and years after the final episode aired. The series was before my time (well before I was old enough to understand it anyway), and yet here we are! And this time difference isn’t even the most notable achievement of attention. It has managed to hold my attention to the point where I (and thousands and thousands of other people) know every single episode backwards and forwards and still continue to not only watch it, but love it. Even though I know exactly what the next line/joke will be, I still wait for it and laugh.
And I’m not alone in this.

However, this also got me thinking about the hundreds and hundreds of other shows that are out there that follow the same rules. The one that I would consider next inline of successfulness would be How I Met Your Mother which, while I still love it, is not the timeless classic that F.R.I.E.N.D.S. is. For years there have been people trying to recreate that ultimate hit, and for years people have just kept missing the mark, though I’m not even sure what the differences between all of those shows are. But there is one thing to conclude from this thought:
F.R.I.E.N.D.S isn’t the rule. It’s the exception.

This week I was practicing my recording skills and I remembered a Youtube video I had watched a while back when I was working on my Vlog for Pop Culture. It’s pretty much just a how-to video of recording sound specifically for Youtube videos, but the idea of some of the pointers are pretty general.

I decided to re-watch the video and found it pretty much told me the same things Kyla had gone over in the lecture (but in less detail). I thought it might have been a moo point (Thankyou Joey Tribiani) watching another video like this, but it was actually really helpful. (Well “really helpful” is a strong way to put it, but it was still good!) It just kind of reinforced good tips and points. I’ve attached a link to the video.

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czg1UMFchC4&t=158s

I also enjoy watching videos like that that are actually enjoyable to watch (obviously). But I mean that in the sense that I find it interesting how different people edit their videos to get a good balance between them talking to the camera (which I find makes it more an more… intimate experience, and then cutaways to vary up the shots and make it seem less, well… boring. I find that the perfect balance varies on each video and depend on how animated each different host it, as well as the content they are actually talking about (and how interesting it is to just listen to – funny that).