REPORTING:

In terms of any issues we faced, choosing a case study to do took a VERY long time. The main problem came from finding something that we both wanted to do and were capable of doing in a week. At the start, we both agreed on using online comedy skits like those from Filthy Frank and Superwog as a case study, but after discussing it more and trying to find ways we could shoot sketches out of it, we decided it just wasn’t going to work for both of us. However, we ended up choosing scenic digital videos which are heavily popular on Youtube and Vimeo. They can be even be seen as narrative, as they tell a story about a certain city or location.

Facing problems about shooting the sketches mainly came from an ‘experience’ barrier. Something about these videos is that they are very professionally made, with expensive gear such as sliders and glidecams. We don’t have any of these, so our sketches, which try to mimic the way some of these shorts are filmed, feel like a DIY version of them.

RELATING:

This has come up before in past experiences with video gigs, etc. As a very low budget filmmaker, when I have paid gigs, there have been times where what is required of me is quite daunting. The same thing comes up with Project Two, as the what we have chosen as a case study is so professionally constructed. Something that has ALWAYS been a challenge for me is colour grading footage, and that is one of the sketches I have been tasked with doing. That being said, practice makes perfect and I believe the more I do this, the better I will get at it. I think it comes down to a lot of experimentation.

Another issue that I’ve seen before is a lack of sufficient equipment, more specifically STABLIISATION! While I’m a huge fan of handheld shooting with shoulder rigs, etc. – when it comes to these kinds of videos, everything needs to look pretty and professional. Thus, stabilised shooting is a MUST. This is a huge issue for me as I simply don’t have glidecams or sliders to use, and have had to use a lot of digital stabilising, which does look a bit dodgy compared to using the actual gear needed.

REASONING:

Factors into these issues is simply lack of experience and gear. I don’t have the knowledge and equipment that people like Devin Graham, have but I think that’s the point of this exercise and course in general. Very much, this course is focused heavily on DIY and experimentation, so I think playing around with these kind of sketches and techniques seen from scenic videos, and to learn from them.

RECONSTRUCTING:

In terms of reconstructing, I think we could work around the limitations we have with issues such as equipment. While practice can help with technical skills such as editing and colour grading, equipment comes down to money, which I don’t have a lot of to spend on film equipment. With those problems, I can find a way to work around them with the technology I have. Warp stabiliser from Adobe programs and structuring my edit so it doesn’t require glidecams or dolly shots can be a solution.