We are introduced to Cecil with two passions: one for the guitar, the other, for his wife.
DIRECTED AND PRODUCED BY
Lyreca Corloncito
FEATURING
Cecil Corloncito
MUSIC
“Human Highway” – Neil Young covered by Cecil Corloncito
“Pluto” – Topher Morh and Alex Elena, from Youtube.
Ahhhhhhhhhhh. Project brief number three! After a week or two of working on this task, it’s safe to say that I’m finally happy with my rough cut. Just kidding HAHA. I’m well and truly done with my final cut and is ready to export and become available on Youtube!
Now before I jump right in to answering the questions about my the video and whatnot, I’d just like to clarify my thoughts and feelings about the process that came along with it. First of all, this is 1000x better than my initial experience with project brief number one. As I am getting more used to the software, the process was a less painful one to go through in comparison to my previous assignments that involved the use of Premiere Pro. Yes, there are a few bumps and grinds that came along with my use but it was easily resolved with the help of me being tech-savvy 😎 (or mainly with the help of Google, really). By the way, I interviewed and filmed my father so credits to him! Now, without further ado, let’s jump right into the questions:
i) What I considered to be the most successful and problematic aspects of my submitted work:
Hm. I actually want to talk about the problematic aspects of the video first rather than quickly unveiling the good stuff. In terms of problems, one of the biggest headache was the AUDIO, which is quite funny actually considering it was one of the most emphasised quality by my tutor, Liam. And it obviously should be seeming as this is an interview task. The audio isn’t entirely bad but you’ll be able to notice it in some bits of the video, especially around the middle time-frame. Ultimately, it was the fault of the camera operator (which was myself) and the only way to fix it was an extensive amount of time, dedicated to preparation. If I have been more better prepared, the following is something I would’ve done for an optimal-quality audio:
As for the successful part of the project, I believe it was the variety of media I provided and how I structured the story. In terms of variety, I obviously filmed the interview segment with the Sony MC50 but due to the 1-day rent limit, I was working around the limitation of my time with the camera. I managed to shoot a few cutaway scenes with the Sony MC50, but other than that, I officially shot the cutaways with my DSLR – Nikon D3200. There may have been old footage in the video (for example, my mother and father dancing) but let’s just say that was a super early preparation for this project. 😂 Seriously speaking now though, I was at an extra advantage once I decided I would be interviewing my father, mainly because I have all these resources of him I have in front of me, making it easier to collect which memory/media was appropriate to represent the message/story. I hope you agree with these aspects that I consider “successful” but otherwise, we all have a different idea of how a video can be successful or problematic.
ii) Any key learning discovery I made in terms of the creative possibilities of producing portraits:
I may have learned a thing or two about not only structuring videos but editing them in a certain way. Reading the feedback from Liam about the structure of my self-portrait video has made me realise that looking over and over your videos is very important instead of overlooking the small details:
“Overall though, the video suffers from a lack of structure and some cuts that definitely need tightening up” – Liam, 2017
With the task of completing an interview, it was way easier to find the structure, especially with the questions that must be prepared in advanced to obviously prompt the interviewee on whatever topic I was after. Essentially, a key learning discovery I have made (and as you may have noticed I’ve already mentioned a few times) was EXTRA AND EARLY PREPARATION. Yes, I may have procrastinated here and there but never underestimate the power of being organised and prepared. This has extensively helped me in my ability to make creative decisions about when and where I should place certain shots of the film. Of course, starting early is always a good idea. I learned this the hard way with the first project but around this time, I did manage to complete it before the deadline thanks to the extension, but I still have a lot to learn in terms of time management.
iii) What I learnt in the making process that might be relevant to your broader development as a media practitioner:
During the making process, the only thing that really stuck to me was how clear the story was going to be for the audience. This is probably going to be a very similar answer to question two but the most important thing to me was the message or simply the story my father had to tell. In comparison to the self-portrait this assignment is more straightforward rather than abstract so it was really hard to miss the structure of the video and message. Of course, this further deepens my experience as a media practitioner with this knowledge that I am now able to apply for future assignments and essentially, the skills that I will apply once I enter into the field of media. As of right now, I am still quite unsure about the type of field I may be entering but essentially, this broader development of my techniques and skills will ready me into the crazy world that is MEDIA!
lyreca
Like every other workshop, I was expecting another activity that involved the obvious – camerawork and software editing. But alas, there was no activity to partake in. Honestly, I kind of regretted going because I already had doubts about attending due to the amount of debt I owed to my SLEEP. It’s only appropriate to do this in dot points of course!
Otherwise, that’s pretty much the gist of Week Eight’s workshop! In saying so before, I did regret going to an early class (I consider 11 AM early) but after this mini-reflection, I’d say this workshop was helpful in bettering not only the final video itself but the process of making one. I’m very thankful and appreciative for the feedback! 💖
lyreca
The stresses of university has finally creeped up to me and as a result, my sleeping schedule is basically non-existent. I’d give a detailed description of what time I go to bed but that would just be irrelevant. Anyway, the reading! The reeeeeeaaaaading. I actually approached it differently to what I usually do which is obviously read it in my head but hallelujah for technology. I made my laptop read it out for me (please refer to fig. 1). I’d say that she has a fine Aussie accent with a slight difficulty to pronounce certain words. Hah.
(Figure 1)
Before I stray away onto another topic, I was quite confused as to why we were given a reading about Harry Potter until Brian actually explained it in the lectorial. However, reading a blog post (?) about an interest of mine (which was Harry Potter) was actually quite refreshing. Not saying that the readings have been bland but this is just one of those that peaked my interests, unlike the one about the animals… As for the actual reading, I knew Jenkins was talking about the actual concept of a ‘fandom’ and how it thrives and survives in our perception of reality. I know. Deep as f*ck right? He was reflecting on Harry Potter’s large following, hence why it even has its own theme park for fans to visit and re-live the world of the story.
Now relating the reading to the lectorial – Brian’s lecture made me think about the subculture of a ‘fandom’ and how it affects and influences. I’ve never actually reflected how large a following can get (aka a fandom) until Brian mentioned cosplaying and made me rethink – “wow, fandoms are actually crazy”. And now that I think about it, I think I’ve been in a fandom myself (oh god this is super embarrassing) and I’ve noticed the relations we make between the real word and the world of -insert any TV show/movie/cartoon/etc-. From cosplaying to fan-fictions, we try to make sense of the reality we face as a coping mechanism to whatever we may be facing in our daily lives. As Brian said, it “expresses who we are while trying to relate it to the reality of the world‘.
As for the editing segment of the lecture, the class was shown what the actual meaning of a “rough cut” and a “fine cut”. To be honest, I had no clear concept of what both those cuts meant and I simply just meshed the process of a rough and fine cut. For the next time I use Premiere Pro for a major project, I’ll definitely keep these two things in mind:
🙂
lyreca
Week seven’s workshop didn’t really go according to plan as Brian would have like it because;
As for the people that actually had footage/rough cuts, each table reviewed their work and from what I witnessed (which I’m glad I did), I was actually on the right track as I had the same general idea as everyone else did. In terms of how the interviewee was being shot during the segment of the questions, I also envisioned how Alex and Ellie shot theirs. They did talk about some terms that I wasn’t quite familiar with such as cutaways (I actually knew it but I just didn’t know the right term lmao). Speaking about cutaways, I plan on having at least 75-85% of those in my film, hopefully. Back to the main topic – rough cuts! Like I said, I’m glad, I was able to see some of my peers’ work because it has given me inspiration, considering I’ve done NADA.
Now for today’s main event – the shooting exercise! As it is inspired by the White Gloves Festival, we had to edit purely just on the camera, SONY MC50. At first, it did sound quite daunting to do but once we got into it, everything just seemed natural. One thing I can say that was quite difficult was planning out the story, considering there was absolutely no editing to be done on our laptops. Despite the difficulties, this was our plan of action: wing it. Okay, jokes aside, we actually did improvise with a plan in mind, of course:
Shoot the necessary scenes and immediately cut it – there is to be no bloopers involved so, we did have to delete some scenes that had a bit of slip-ups and whatnot. Here is the final product!
Okay the cover photo of this video makes me look like I’m taking a sh*t but it is what it is. I’m not usually the one to be in front of the camera, seeming as I feel very awkward and shy around it. However, this video proved me otherwise and it didn’t turn out so bad after all. I think the message here is quite clear, that the character is pursuing to be happier and more confident with herself. Not only does the portrayal of this character encapsulate the message – the camera work contributed a large amount of effort. From my analysis, most of the shots were a range of mid-shot/medium-shot, meaning it doesn’t get too personal, and therefore leaves a wide, open interpretation/judgment for the audience. However, at the end of the film, the camera work seems to be getting closer and closer to my face, which is confronting to both the character and myself irl, but either way, I’m confidently smiling. Overall, I’m quite happy with how this activity/video turned out.
lik 2017
“They are both like and unlike” – reference to humans and animals.
The reading is discusses the profound differences between man and animals and how animals for example, possess human-like qualities in a certain aspect.
How this relates to media? I have no idea at all. But what I can make out from it is that unlike animals, man is able to create idea, therefore man is able to create. And through media, it is a form of self-creation/expression that animals are not able to comprehend. This is not to diminish the ability of animals. In fact, animals possess a quality that makes them different from us – it is their detachment with worldly stresses and issues that make them, well, animals. In a way lack of self-realisation can be burden-lifting and comfortable because they don’t have to experience an existential crisis that we humans do. Nonetheless, this inherent quality that we possess is what makes us essentially human – this is why we are able to create.
I decided that with the two upcoming essays on my plate, I took the week off, meaning that I missed out on the glory of Media One’s lecture, week six to be exact. I asked a few of my friends what happened during the lecture and I felt the need to include their responses or opinions of the session because why not!
I also looked at Brian’s post to and luckily it has a multiplicity of resources and links to keep me updated –
lyreca
The concept of public versus private space, is mostly discussed on the medium that is technology. The generation of millenials and X/Y experience a new form expression that has never been experienced before by previous generations. What I’ve noticed in the reading is that it emphasised the concept of “power”, making it a reason why youth “overshare” on the internet. The reading discussed the different roles teens and adults have on the internet and that is –
adult = power/the surveillance and teen = their form of expression/the challenger against the “power”
The reading could be interpreted in so much more ways but that’s my version of it, as I tried to condense it. All in all, my opinion of the whole topic is that previous generations have always been vocal about their expressions/opinions/etc but now in the new age of technology, the teenagers of today are the ones facing the the question of “why youth share so publicly?”
That’s that?
lyreca 🤢
I missed out on week #6’s workshop due to extenuating circumstances (lol jks i was busy writing a paper) but anywho I decided to snoop around my fellow classmates’ blog posts and got a general idea of what to do!
Before, I present to you the masterpiece of a video hahahaha I would like to reiterate the importance of PRE-production. You simply can’t burden everything onto post-production because your past mistakes will make editing a living hell for you. For that reason, this was my approach on pre-production:
I followed the process of scripting the shot, however, I did not go through with the storyboard and replaced it with directing where the “talent/s” would placed within the setting.
Which is why we had to shoot with a continuous shot, perhaps. I obviously missed out class discussion about this and what their opinion may be but we gotta remember to give a bit more love to pre-production than what it deserves.
Here is my take on the continuous shot of “Misunderstandings”.
I played around with my friends whilst filming this and it took at least 5 takes for us to somewhat perfect this. A little disagreement here and there and it also took me out of my comfort zone as I’m not used to the role of a leader. Nonetheless, we ended up with this and I’m 85% satisfied with the finished product. It’s all about practice so I’m not too fussed.
lyreca 😎
“Our eyes create art”
On a somewhat cold day of week number five, Lyreca had no knowledge that her Media 1 class would be operating on cameras (Sony MC50, to be exact). She came into class unprepared, with a million things in her mind about the upcoming assessments and especially this interview project. This activity would be the perfect task to keep her busy mind in check, especially with all the dread about these assignments slowly drawing near her. Right?
One thing I can say about this video – shitty audio.
Undergoing Thursday’s task was definitely unexpected as I have previously mentioned. I think it’s better to put the series of event in a list so here goes:
That’s it for now,
lyreca 👀