(I have no idea why GIFs aren’t working on my blog posts nowadays)

Our aim for our video essay is to contrast the delivery of our audio essay through being entertaining, inclusive and engaging. Although our script features witty dialogue and familiar pop culture references, our visuals doesn’t quite have that same effect.

Thankfully serendipity did its magic and decided that Emily should be the only host of the video essay. With this decision, it allowed us to provide complexity in our editing skills and the humour that reflects through the dialogue. As someone who’s familiar with the basics of Premiere Pro, split screening was a bit more on the complex side. But with a few Google searches here and there, I managed to discover how it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be:

Due to the camera being on auto-settings, the lens would often adjust towards the light reflecting onto the subject. This made the process and illusion much more difficult than it was intended to be. In order to smoothen out the edges and blend the images into one frame, I had to rely on the good ol’ RGB curves in an attempt to match the same shade of red for each footage.

The next problem was to crop and smooth out (as much as possible) the area around Emily’s head to show both Emily’s on the same frame. This involved using a mask to crop this area and then key-framing so that it would be consistent throughout the entire clip. I guess the moral of the story is to never use the phrase “don’t worry we’ll just fix it in post” and to get yourself out of that mindset. Even though the process was quite tedious at times, I’ve felt a sense of achievement and finally understand how Natalie Tran and Anna Akana do it (I think I’ve finding some inspiration flowing through).