Small Things Assignment 1: Goals and Desires

Small Things Assignment 1: Reflection 1

Small Things Assignment 1: Reflection 2

Small Things Assignment 1: Initiative Post

When it comes to other forms of video making, the aims of the studio reminds me of when my friends and I made videos for our high school. There is usually not a lot of preparation time for shooting and editing, and there would constantly be restraints in both lengthwise and style of the final video. Of course, these videos were less critiqued by peers and teachers, but are limited by our abilities. Looking back at these videos, I am constantly reminded of the joy video making brings to people when they view them. Seeing my school joying my videos is a great feeling, this effect is something that I wish to replicate in my future filmmaking. In a similar way, Yoko Taro, a Japanese video game director and writer, views the emotion elicited by his games to be the most important aspect. The strong emotions one feels after playing his games is the reason why he is one of my favourite icons in the gaming industry right now.

I am really interested in creating videos on YouTube but more specifically gaining an audience. While it is said that anyone can upload on YouTube, not everyone can gain an audience whilst doing so. Recently, more and more YouTubers are becoming mainstream in the real world through their efforts online. When it comes to short-form video production like what we are experimenting in this studio, I am reminded of sketch comedy channels. Last year, Superwog, an Australian comedy channel, released their first TV series on both YouTube and ABC. It is interesting to see how they moved from short 3-4 minutes comedy sketch videos to today with full TV-length episodes while maintaining the same style of comedy they are known for.

Another creator I’m constantly inspired by is Anthony Fantano, the host of TheNeedleDrop channel. He mainly does music reviews and shorter discussion pieces on music industry news. Whilst the production value of his videos are often similar, usually featuring him sitting against a wall with a green screen used to insert album covers, it is his work ethic I am inspired by. He posts reviews daily on his main channel and also discussion videos on his personal channel, all the while engaging with fans on social media and highlighting fan creations. Fantano often makes fun of himself through the memes he shares on social media, such as his decision to give a popular album a 6 out of 10. I believe that online videos are the future and learning how to manage an online presence through video creation is a valuable asset to have today.

One of my favourite films I watched in 2018 was Whiplash, which to my surprise was based on a short film of the same name. The 18-minute short film won an award at Sundance 2013, which attracted investors to produce a full-length movie. The short film had a smaller scope; set in a medium-sized music room and the corridor outside and the cast is reduced. The way a short film executed well could lead to a full-length movie inspires me as it demonstrates how smaller efforts can eventually become something greater.

Lenny and Van before reshoot (no dialogue)

Lenny and Van reshoot

Our own Lenny and van video which we were given the script of the scene was perhaps the most educational of the exercises we have done so far. Previously, we were given the footage to edit, and through it, most of us identified issues we want to avoid ourselves, such as ending the recording so soon after the director calls cut. In this exercise, we realised just how much forethought had to go into the whole process. On our first shoot, there were shots that were either similarly framed, incorrectly directed or were missed. We only noticed this while looking through the footage in Premiere after the shoot. In our reshoot, other issues also occurred where we did not set up the camera properly. Therefore we ended up with a different exposure setting from the first shoot and audio levels were too low. I believe this is a good learning experience, most of the things I would not have picked up on unless we were the ones filming, directing and editing the scene ourselves.

30 Seconds Homework

For our very first homework, we were tasked with making a simple 30 seconds video where we perform a mundane and boring task. Although the task seems manageable, upon taking out my camera and tripod, I was immediately overwhelmed with the near infinite amount of options in framing the shot. Whether I should do a birdseye view or from a high angle shooting downwards. In addition, there were no limitations with editing, therefore the number of shots required as well as the pacing of the shots had to be determined. For this task, I decided it would be easier for me to film more footage than needed and trimming them as needed in editing to reach 30 seconds limit. However, this had the result of making the selection process when assembling the clips more difficult. With around 3 minutes of footage, I had to either not use clips or shorten them.

Coming into this studio, I wanted to complete more project compared to my previous studio. In working with smaller projects, I believed they are less about the final result but the skills and competencies that I pick up along the way. I began learning about video editing in year seven, starting with Sony Vegas, working with footage that was not filmed by me or in video games. I find myself lacking experience in the filming aspect of production. Therefore, I am looking forward to solidifying core filmmaking principles. I also wish to rediscover my passion for video production in my spare time. Ever since joining the course, I began to use the classes as an outlet for my works. But in doing so, I began to ignore my other creative pursuits, such as making videos with friends and podcasting. I find it harder and harder to resume a video script or plan, opening Premiere Pro for anything other than for school purposes seem like a chore. Thus, I hope through frequent and yet brief usage of post-production programs, I can overcome my equivalent of a writer’s block.

I think Small Things is a studio in which I can explore unfamiliar concepts and techniques without having the commitment to stick to them for weeks for an assignment. I am fine with being guided by restraints since most projects in the real world will also be confined with restraints in some way or another. In fact, for me, it is more interesting to work within these constraints as they often allow one to think outside the box and find new ways to push the boundaries. As I’ve learned from the first two weeks of class, the iterative way of learning can have its positives. Making multiple versions of a sequence may seem trivial at first but doing so really does push one to explore new options. Far too often I’ve made videos with only one sequence. This makes me feel unwilling to change the order of events and a mistake can potentially ruin the rest of the sequence. And so, through the iterative method of learning and smaller projects, Small Things ought to be a vessel for students to alter their familiar ways of making media.