Available here 

Synopsis:

When Max Bradley decided to drop out of university, he had ambitions that exceeded what a conventional education could offer. Max decided to join Sea Shepherd, an organization whose main focus is sustaining ecological systems and preserving the ocean’s wildlife. Everyday, Max dedicates himself to saving beached whales and untangling animals from abandoned fishing nets. AQUAPURA is a 5 minute documentary that focuses on Max’s relationship with Sea Shepherd Organization and the oceans he has yet to cross 

Production Roles: 

Directed by Oliver Kuschel

Filmed by Karmen Ma

Edited by Norton Chen

Two seperate edits of a sequence of your work.Embed two different edits of a key sequence in your media work and write a 350 word reflection on the aims, strengths and weaknesses of each.  If you are working in another medium (ie: photo essay, photographs), you might like to explore two different layouts or formats for the work to be presented in.

Final edit:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1cYabMno7nlgfGBB0snMO0TB2-gVlHxkd

Rough edit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqXMWV56Be8&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR36tYvAs-mY8vQbYesIE3CwxqHct4gjCo8haadXErEjfyc5p8N0M6yJkdU

Sequence time:0:00-1:25

The aim for the opening sequence of AquaPura was to really get the audience hooked into what the film is about and to create some suspense. We originally thought that the best way to achieve this was to make it as fast paced as possible. The original sequence is quite in your face in terms of pace and the information being thrown at you. We originally thought that this aggressiveness was a good idea because the audience would be hooked right from the start. However, during our screening, the guest critics suggested we slow it down a bit because it was an information overload. I think the biggest strength of this edit is that the information being shown draws people in due to its fast-paced nature. How ever this also at the same time can be a negative. The information can feel as if it is coming too fast which might deter some people from paying attention because they cannot keep up with the information at hand. After hearing what our guests had to say about the opening sequence, we of course needed to slow it down a bit so that the audience have time to digest what’s being said. We did this by adding some more breathes in between phrases as well as cutting some unnecessary information that Max was talking about when we originally interviewed him. Obviously, the biggest strength of the final sequence is that it feels a lot less aggressive than the original edited sequence, which I think the audience will feel more comfortable with. Another strength of this edit is that I personally think the slower pace works well with the sound track better. The fast ticking in the background becomes more prominent in the final edit because of all the pauses that were added. I think this helps to aid our original aim of the opening sequence which was to hook our audience in.

A 350 word post oncollaboration – Did you have any issues in the making of your work? How did you overcome them? What makes a good collaborator?

The collaborative process this semester was quite a fun but stressful time. Norton and Karmen we’re great and reliable group members but when things that are out of your hands play dividends it can mean that this process can be tiresome. We had our fair few issues throughout this whole semester which created a number of issues for us. I think the biggest problem we had was due to the weather being quite terrible. We kept pushing back filming because every time we planned to film it was raining. It finally got to a point where we couldn’t afford to push it back anymore, so we filmed the interview in a recording studio at RMIT. The footage was terrible but we had already planned to cover it in b-roll anyway, so we were more invested in the audio than actual footage. Another issue that occurred over the collaborative process was the hiring of equipment. We had booked the only video camera available from RMIT thinking it would be the one that we had learned to use in class, but it turned out to be a completely different camera which neither Norton nor Karmen knew how to use. It meant that we we’re quite messy and unorganised in regards to setting the gear up. But luckily, we got the grasp of things after 20 minutes of tinkering with the camera. Another issue we had was sorting out who was going to edit a large chunk of this work, and thankfully Norton offered to ease our work load a bit because he didn’t have as many assignments as Karmen and I. I think a good collaborator is a team player and can get along with everyone in the group. Not having to worry about people arguing about how things should be or what they think is right creates a nice atmosphere which is enjoyable for all.

A 350 word post appraising your final work – What was your intention with this work? Did you achieve it? What aspects of the work are you proud of? What media production skills do you need to improve?.

Our intention for AquaPura was to highlight some interesting and key issues happening in todays world in the oceans. We wanted to try and spread awareness among a younger demographic as it will be us in the future who are going to have to deal with these problems if changes aren’t made. We thought the best way to do this would to be with Max as he fits into the target demographic which I personally believe helps to make it feel more relevant to those who watch. I would say for the most part we achieved what we set out to do, but I think if I were to do it again, I would change a few things. Due to time constraints its hard to develop a character and their personalities or traits. I think the film would’ve been even more dominant if we heard about Max’s story a bit more because the film only really tells us what he does on the surface. I think it would’ve also been good if we focused more on what people who are watching can do, as we include what Max suggests everyday people can do. But because it is only a 5 minute film I think it loses a bit of its attention as we didn’t have enough time to put more emphasis on it. I would say I’m proud over all with what we have achieved this semester. We had many constraints which set us back, but we were able to over come them to deliver our final product. I would say that I’m most proud of how our group worked together. It made for a less stressful time for everyone and just the general working environment has been enjoyable for me. Some media production skills that I would like to work on would certainly be editing. I feel like I can do very basic editing but after seeing other groups work compared to ours it makes me want to try and learn how to edit things in a more professional way. I also think I would like to learn how to use video cameras a bit more because at times I didn’t feel too comfortable with them just due to the fact that my knowledge with video cameras isn’t strong.

A 350 word post reflecting on your semester – Review the Week 1 blog post where you outlined your goals for this unit. Did you meet them? What challenges did you experience? How did you overcome them? What did you learn along the way? 

One of my goals for this semester which I mentioned in my goals was that I wanted to get better with my basic camera skills. I think I can say that I worked on them, but I still feel as if I have more to learn. I enjoyed learning how to use those Sony video cameras in class because prior to using them I thought that it would be pretty straight forward for me because I use a Sony mirrorless camera. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I had no clue how to use these cameras which was fun and exciting. I think some of my most important information that I will use in other classes would have come out of those shooting exercises we did in class because I really enjoy being behind a camera.  I also wanted to go out of my comfort zone this semester because I usually stick more to the photography side of media making. This semester was a great way for me to explore more videography and appreciate the work and effort that goes into film making. I think that this semester I really started to appreciate both the knowledge and fun that I was getting out of the hands-on side of class because it made the whole process a lot more enjoyable. I think one challenge I experienced is my confidence when it came to making decisions. When things start to be beyond your control, I found it sometimes hard to make decisions on what to do. An example of this was when we were behind in filming due to weather and I wasn’t sure if we should just wait or film in another location. This is something that I would like to work on moving forward in my studies.