My initial idea for this assignment was to make an oral history project that focused on the evolvement of the capitol theatre. The video project should outline the differences that are being made to the theatre and the way it is used. I found it interesting to look at the differences between the usage of the theatre in the 1900´s time and how it is to be used after the relaunch. I quickly found out that this project was a little too extensive for just a one-minute video because it would need at least two interviews. I also had trouble finding the people to interview. Therefore, I decided to do a simpler project together with Claudia. We both found the cooperation with ACMI to be very interesting and a good match so we decided to go with this idea instead.
The first thing we did after coming up with our new idea was to contact different people with the intention of interviewing them. This was unfortunately not possible within the given timeframe. The good news was that we will hopefully be able to conduct the interviews for the next assignment. That is why we decided to do a sort of trailer video that leads up to the big project. I find the collaboration between ACMI and the Capitol to be interesting because it utilises the Capitols new potential after relaunching. It is also fascinating to see what the two partners hope to get out of the collaboration and how they can benefit each other. By using the Capitol theatre ACMI inserts a great part of the Melbourne media history into their work and I think this will benefit them a lot. I also believe that the Capitol benefits from this collaboration by drawing attention to itself and showing off the new ways it can be used. Because the Capitol is more than just a theatre.
When we realised that we were not able to do the interviews in time for the assignment due date, we decided that at least we needed to use our own footage. We had a little bit of video footage from around Melbourne city and the Capitol that we shot in previous classes and in addition to that we rented a camera and did a small timelapse in front of the Capitol and ACMI. The reason for doing a timelapse was that we figured it would be a great background for inserting pictures onto. In my opinion a timelapse is more exiting to look at compared to a still picture. Furthermore, we were constrained to do footage outside of the Capitol as we did not have access inside of it. The first thing we did was to do a brainstorm on how to do the trailer video. We decided on using as much of our own footage as possible and to do a voice-over. We decided to do two timelapses and quickly rented some equipment so that we could film while the weather was good. Next, we sat down to discuss what to say in the voiceover. The first half is a quick historic recap of the Capitol’s history and the other half introduces the collaboration with ACMI. We tried to record the sound in a room with as little background noise as possible which I think we managed okay. The next step was to find the photos for the video. Luckily, we had access to several photos that shows the Capitol in the olden days. We also found a recording of an organ playing that we used as background sound throughout the video. We chose this because we know there used to be a great organ in the Capitol theatre. When we got to the editing process we tried to make the video visually appealing by choosing different methods of composing the videos and images.
What I learned from the process of creating a short one-minute video was that it is both a short and a long amount of time. Footage-wise there has to be quite a lot of material so that the video does not become boring to look at. I find that we do have the amount of footage needed but not much more. This meaning it would have been difficult making a longer video. What I think we managed to do was to have a lot of different types of footage in the video so hopefully it is interesting to look at. Also, we tried to do different types of compositions of the video and photo material in the video to make it appealing for the eye to look at. In terms of the voice-over I found that one minute is not a very long time and it was difficult to make a manuscript that fit the time. I would have liked if we could say more in that time because in my opinion it was a bit shallow. But then again that is the meaning with a trailer, so it might be sufficient to do that job.
To sum up I have learned a lot in the process of doing this assignment and I am looking forward to doing a longer and more in-depth project.
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