I would love to give credit to the music video directed by my lovely friend, Emily Cox. A key idea addressed in the studio that I think Emily does good job for her M/V is the transition of sound and images. She takes advantage of the match cuts effect to transit between scenes and represents the vibe of the whole song: internal struggle with love. For example, the burning fire or the storm in the dark is the metaphor for the raging emotions that sit deep inside the character. To maximize the efficiency of the match-up, she blends two different shots to create a dreamy and conflicting look. I also love her choice of colour and lighting in this music video; it is fascinating. It correlates with the concept of moods in genres that we discussed in the studio before. I am not certain about her intentions behind those choices. However, I could sense that each scene should speak out a certain feeling. The bright red, dim light set of the bathroom with the lighter prop signifies the anger – red. Whilst, the dark blue set of the tunnel indicates the sadness – blue. We talked in class about different genres that might have their preferred choices of colour and lighting. Depending on the cinematography choice, drama might only use a bit of light to create contrast or blend the characters into the surroundings. I also like Trevor’s commercial edit. It looks fresh straight out of the commercials I see on TV. I like how he puts the snap photos frame by frame to create the rough motion of B-boy dancing. I also notice that he uses a lot of B-rolls of shoe close-up and place them with the main sequence to intensify the endurance of the shoes. The sound edit is on point. I am not sure if we ever mentioned sound editing in detail. Nevertheless, I love how we smoothly move from the sound of the zipper opening to the hip-hop sound. I bet there is a lot of work with sound design to snap with scene rotation.

I am also interested in the science fiction short movie, TANTRUM, from AUGMENTED CINEMA (Creating Immersive Media with Film and Video). I think the key idea that this short movie communicates is team collaboration. I can reflect on the Commercial genre edit (Freatom) that we did in our studio and my narrative edit from Series Edit Brief. In the team contribution sequel, I see that every member is in charge of different works, from VFX creation to editing and direction. Looking at the successful output, I think that they have shown an awesome teamwork spirit. Because every single duty is labour-intensive, it requires good communication between members to ensure every process finishes on time. The same philosophy applies to our Commercial genre edit. Although the fact that we edited the commercial individually, we had the voice-over recorded by our classmate. Working in a team, an essential characteristic in this industry, means that everybody knows their duties and ensures a good teamwork ethic. I also feel the need for a coherent group in the making of narrative edit. I would like to fragmentalise the production into three big categories: pre-production, shooting, and post-production. In the short movie Tantrum, the pre-production shows vividly through their preparation of the script, visual storyboard, and shot list. The post-production reflects on the sound design (the allocation of track and mixing afterwards), and motion design (VFX). Therefore, I can compare the difference in quality between a one-man movie versus a movie directed by a crew

Narrative Edit: A broken family

They are pretending to be a lovely family but no one can see the intentions behind it 

Documentary Edit: Music passion

Bobby shares his love for music as he grows up and he gets into rap music and his favourite artist, Tyler the Creator

Commercial Edit: Fictional commerical for Hubbards cereal

Hubbards, with additional 20% content of vitamins and calcium, prospects to bring you a nutritional and tasty food choice

This course surpasses my expectation of taking all the essential stages of media production into account, under the guidance of an experienced professional in the Media Industry.

When I wrote down my initial reflection post, I was uncertain what a standard shot list and script should look like. However, this studio gives me precious chances to learn from mistakes and rebound through many failed attempts. In fact, it turns out to be the most valuable lesson of this studio, ever more important than any technical skill.

I look back at my workflow and examine it carefully to see what is wrong from the start. I spend time reviewing movie scripts, and learning how they stage the actions, dialogues, and events in chronological order. Followings that, I actually learn from my senior friends and take constructive feedback from them. There is no better derivation of knowledge than immersing in competitive work experience.

Before jumping straight into shooting, I spent numerous days visualizing what I would do for this project after the serial errors I experienced in the past. I came up with different scripts for each series, especially the narrative brief, which I think I might have discarded more than two scripts before the final one. My conclusion from all the failures is that whenever I write any script, I need to consider several factors: Is that possible in the limit of resources and time? Is that idea good enough to screen it?

I feel blessed that I get the opportunity to do meaningful projects that are relevant to the Media Industry. From the genre edits to the final series edits, I am proud that I have definite control over the mindset of how I will direct my projects.

Part 1:

This course surpasses my expectation of taking all the essential stages of media production into account, under the guidance of an experienced professional in the Media Industry. Reflecting on my conclusion from the first blogs of this course, I still feel the necessity to discuss the importance of preproduction and the role of an editor, which outsiders sizably misunderstand. In the first blog, I talked about the shot list, scriptwriting, and how they should be carefully constructed in advance of the shooting day. To this day, I appreciate the efficiency of these preproduction stages since they helped me overcome the measurable struggles I used to go through. When I wrote down my initial reflection post, I was uncertain of what a standard shot list and script should precisely look like. However, this studio gives me precious chances to learn from mistakes and rebound through many failed attempts. In fact, it turns out to be the most valuable lesson of this studio, ever more important than any technical skill. When I created the shot list for the Lenin script, the intimidation overtook me so ferociously that I froze out. Later in the class, there was a period in that I was frustrated with the output. The visuals did not match my initial expectations and the frustration was that new ideas always came up in the middle of the shooting. You could imagine that I was trying to fix a broken faucet by sticking bandages on the leak. Henceforth, I look back at my workflow and examine it carefully to see what is wrong from the start. I spend time reviewing some movie scripts, and learning how they stage the actions, dialogues, and events in chronological order. Followings that, I actually learn from my senior friends and take constructive feedback from them. There is no better derivation of knowledge than immersing in competitive work experience. As a result, I learn how to make storyboards as the visual reference to the shot list and script. I look back at the script template in week#4 and connect it to my new knowledge of storyboards. The linear process, following up with a new workflow, starts to develop. I feel blessed that I get the opportunity to do meaningful projects that are relevant to the Media Industry. From the genre edits to the final series edits, I am proud that I have definite control over the mindset of how I will direct my projects. Finally, I realize that it is not any advanced technical skill or mindblowing concepts that impresses me thus far. Significantly, it is the chance to show my vision in the limelight, connect with like-minded peers, and realize that I enjoy this pathway more than I used to think. Thank you for this absolutely amazing semester!

Part 2:

I think that the goal of this project is to record our personal development as media practitioners this semester. If one production process is worth mentioning, it must be to plan intricately at the start to line every stage harmoniously. Before jumping straight into shooting, I spent numerous days visualizing what I would do for this project after the serial errors I experienced in the past. I came up with different scripts for each series, especially the narrative brief, which I think I might have discarded more than two scripts before the final one. My conclusion from all the failures is that whenever I write any script, I need to consider several factors: Is that possible in the limit of resources and time? Is that idea good enough to screen it?

(this is my second script for the narrative after I realized my first script is not doable)

(this is my first script/you can see the second scene – montage changed into scene at work)

(Shot list in details for the Narrative)

It is sort of a mind map when you get a single branch of an idea. On the road to growing from that single slice to a complete script sometimes come across moments of truth that your storytelling is terrible and you have to write that again, I think that it teaches me to be more disciplinary and consistent with every single detail; sometimes, it is harsh to face the truth but it is an epiphany when you get the desirable results.

I got some critical feedback from my teacher about my first choice of commercial (the Pixels footage edit). Therefore, I decided to write an entirely new script based on the Commercial Edit Brief Template. Here is the photo:

(Voice-over narration script)

(Commercial Edit Brief)

Moreover, I try to replicate the role of the editor, camera operator, and visual and art directors in the decision-making stage. I understand why it is important to have different departments at the dawn of the project to share insightful ideas about how the project would launch and succeed. For example, if I was a camera operator, I would need to materialize the art director’s vision into the direction of the cameras in every shot. As an editor, I would love to be creative with my choice of cuts but still keep on track with the original plans from the director. Therefore, I reckon that I am solid in my direction from the earliest stage, which saves you a substantial amount of time for fixing. I hope that my final work will be an experimental journey for viewers. 

Preliminary, I do not expect viewers to overwhelm with lots of things on the screen. When I look at the requirement of the edit series, I am fascinated with the idea of creating a scripted scene. I have shared how I struggled to look for the appropriate way to organize my ideas into work. Then, it is a time for me to look at different works of people who I have plenty of respect for their contributions. As a matter of fact, I clarify that every great thing has to start from the smallest first steps. This similar idea attributes to all the media work we see in everyday life: people get a great script before they can chase bigger prospects. So on, I want my viewer to feel the story I transcribe through the screen. Each of the edits is a station of different emotional states. It could be an absurd sensation for the commercial, could provoke personal thought in the documentary, and be thrilling with the scripted edit. I think I am a storyteller and my mission is to tell you a story. 

If I am going to work on my media piece, I would want to improve the pre-production. I am not entirely pleased with the fact that I had to spend an additional day shooting for the scenes that had no sounds in them due to the microphone’s failure. Actually, there are a lot of things to consider apart from the shot list and storyboard, for example, the shot direction list (elaborate on how each shot will be undertaken), the equipment list (especially useful when you have to book the equipment in advance), and the set design. In fact, I put a few notes in my shot list to help me figure out which way I want the character and the following camera to move. However, it was quite awful in the making because I only got a mere understanding of the place where I did the shooting. As a result, I sometimes had to rewrite the description on the spot. I might tell you how time efficient it would be if you had an entire department for the set design. If I could do research in advance on the places, their history, culture, and aesthetics, I might feel confident before taking the shot list into account. Furthermore, it would work better if you know the specific equipment you need for the shot and always have a backup plan for substitution. Because my microphone is battery run and I am the only one in charge of everything, I do not check the audio signals. Dramatically, it turns out later that the exports do not have any sound. Though it is exhausting to tell what I have been through during the production, I think personally every failure gives me some valuable lessons for the next attempt. It is never wrong to commit any mistake. If I could develop my edit into a different kind of work, I would love to invite experienced people from those aforementioned departments and listen to their thoughts. Collaboration is integral to the media-making process. This leads to my discussion about collaboration.

Part 3:

I think I worked with an amazing team this semester. I did not have the chance to get to know every guy personally. However, on some rare occasions working with classmates on group projects (Lenin’s edit, the food advertisement), I grew insightful thoughts into how the creating process in this industry operates. It really matters that one important aspect of the whole industry is teamwork and collaboration. It is essential to exchange interesting ideas and support media peers. Fortunately, I worked with my two classmates who had prior experience with scriptwriting and creating shot lists. I mentioned in the first part that critical reflection from your colleague’s intuition will unlock more advanced skills and extract insightful experiences. Later, I had a chance to edit different versions of classmates’ interviews. I could see various ideas for setting up the interview space, positioning the camera and interviewee, and so on. It was interesting to see how my peers edit from given footage and exchange intuition of editing techniques and styles. As individuals, it is significant to realize that we have diverse approaches when it comes down to creativity and taste. Given that we see life through various lenses, I was happy to see interesting edits from my classmates: some of them are hilarious in their genre, and some might be more serious to match the storytelling spirit of the narrator. In the end, I truly value these moments of collaboration from this class. It is certain that I will work with larger groups of people in the future to create things. Thank you for this amazing semester.