Today has not been a good day. I have spent most of my time working (or attempting to work) on my second project brief assignment. To create a 1 minute video, which acts as a self portrait, we have to use a program called Adobe Premier. Before I started using this program I thought I was good with technology, I no longer think that. For some reason I am just struggling to get my head around the different intricacies involved within it. As a media producer it is making me frustrated because I have all these ideas and concepts I would like to experiment with, but I am being limited by my lack of understanding of the tools I am using. I am looking forward to our workshop this week because hopefully we will go through some of the things I am having trouble with.

So I don’t forget what questions I want to ask, I will put them here.
What do the different “timelines” mean?
How do I edit a photo/video/audio before I put it in my timeline?
What kind of effects can I use throughout my video and how do I put them in?

Here’s hoping that I am not defeated by this technology and that I can create something amazing that I am happy with.

Rose @)—

Update #1 

So this morning before class I decided to have a closer look at some of the resources we have been given to help navigate this program. I have been looking at YouTube tutorials by people such as Terry White and Kriscoartproductoins which have been quite helpful but I still feel like I am missing a greater understanding. Maybe it’s just me, but I would like to have a certain level of comfort with a program before I start using it for assessments or even just something that I am going to show to people. I don’t like showing work that I feel is still “a work in progress” which is what I’m worried this assignment will turn out being. Hopefully I can get the help I need today and feel a bit more at ease with using this complicated program.

Rose @)—

Update #2

Yay! I have found salvation! The tutorial today was very helpful. I was sitting next to a lovely girl who helped me out with a lot of the questions I had. It was also nice to hear that she was having similar struggles and panics. It was reassuring but it also made me wonder what kind of things we could achieve for this first assignment if we had more time. I realise that we are confined by the time constraints of the university semester. But imagine if we had a year’s experience in this program? I’m actually excited for the future to see what I can create. This blog is also great because it gives me somewhere to document my progress, so in a year or two I can look back and see where I started and how far I’ve come.

For now though, I am pleased with my progress. In the workshop today we learnt how to do “fade ins” and “fade outs” which can make the transition between the different texts smoother. I also played around with other different transitions such as “barn doors” and “wipe” just to see what they look like and the kind of effect they make. I was reminded of our discussions about editing and how the way something is edited can create a different impact on the audiences. Something seemingly as simple as the way you transition from one image to another can create the tone for the whole piece. Honestly, this makes me a little stressed. One supposedly small decision could change the whole atmosphere of the piece. It could be the difference between good and bad. It feels like a lot of pressure.

But I will say this, for the first time, I actually enjoyed using this program. I had fun experimenting with the different effects and manipulating my media. So, hopefully, with a bit more practice, those “big, little decisions” won’t seem so daunting.

Until then,

Rose @)—