DIY video production

with Marc Bragdon

mbragdon@unb.ca

Five minute miracles

https://login.proxy.hil.unb.ca/login?url=https://www.nfb.ca/film/two_and_two/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BhzbLWvAYGG/

https://youtu.be/_3pOSUkqEnk

https://youtu.be/zh2iEunP0kk

https://youtu.be/SizN0_PaJlQ

Agenda

• Elements of film and filming

• Planning today’s cellphilm shoot

• The shoot (in teams)

• The show

Elements of film making

Message

+ Purpose

Technology + Technique

Planning (Segway into today’s shoot)

Message + purpose

• Form follows function

• Who are your audiences? What message(s) are you trying to convey to them? What are their communication preferences and behaviours?

• Audience + message come together according to:• Scalable education

• Scalable sociality

Elements of film making

Adapted from:Miller, Daniel. How the world changed social media. 2017Ucldigitalpress.co.uk

Scalable education

In depth lesson (15-50 minutes)

Screencast / video (2-5 minutes)

Infotainment (25 – 60 seconds)

Technology and technique

• Moving image photography (camera + lighting)

• Sound recording

• Language of film • Compositional techniques (shots)

• Editing (relating shots and pacing the narrative)

• Editing and rendering (output to format)

Elements of film making

Moving image photography (camera + lighting)

• Camera settings

• Picture stabilization

• Lighting

Elements of film making -> Technology and technique

Camera settings• Aspect ratio, resolution, and size should match

destination platform recommendations

• 16 x 9 aspect ratio, 4:3 (television) or 1:1 (square)

• The higher the fps (frames per second) the smoother the video at maximum display.

• Instagram maximum is 30fps

• Remember, you can degrade but you cannot bump up resolution after the fact.

Elements of film making -> Technology and technique

Picture stabilization

Elements of film making -> Technology and technique

Lighting is everythingElements of film making -> technology and technique

Cellphone lighting tips

• Use natural light whenever possible

• Position subjects sideways to light sources

• Bad lighting situation?• AE/AF locking onto the subject to control focus and exposure

• Focus in on the subject

• 30fps better in low light, 60 fps creates better contrast in bright scenes

• Consider an app like FiLMiC Pro for more control of exposure, focus, white balance, (+stabilization, more ratio and fps options), etc.

Elements of film making -> Technology and technique

Sound recording

• Cellphone audio recording technology lags considerably behind photo/video technology in terms of quality.

• For live sound, use a separate, specialized audio recording device or a second cellphone to record audio (but not for today) and get it up close (but not in the shot).

• Use a clapperboard (or just clap!) to assist in later synchronizing audio with video.

Elements of film making -> Technology and technique

Soundtracks

• Creative commons licensing (e.g., non-commercial attribution)

• Free Music Archive

Large archive of artists-supplied music under Creative Commons licensehttp://freemusicarchive.org/

• freesound

Downloadable sound effects under Creative Commons licensehttps://www.freesound.org

Elements of film making -> Technology and technique

Exercise 1: recording in action10 minutes

In groups of 2, in which you will trade off:

Shoot a 30 second single video clip introduction of your activity partner for Instagram, mindful of:

• Shooting in 1080p 30 fps (check your camera settings)• Lock focusing and exposure on your subject• How will you stabilize your shot?• Try shooting indoors where the main light source is hitting the subject at an angle (vs

straight on)

Switch roles and shoot a similar video mindful of first three bullet points above

• Try shooting where the main light source is coming from behind the subject• Subject should use the sound recorder from their own iPhone.

Language of film: compositional techniques

• Blocking: Determining the position and movements of subject and objects in relation to one another.

• Shots: Video clips with (hopefully) deliberately chosen perspectives to craft a narrative.

• B roll: Shots that are (hopefully) related to the main (attr)action of a given scene and can be woven in during editing to enhance the narrative (or cover mistakes).

Elements of film making

Crafting a narrative with shot choices

Facets of a story Shot options

Where (environment) Establishing (or wide) shot

Who (the subject) Close up

What (drama/actions performed by or on subject) Long or wide shot

When (time period, at a point in a given story) -Continuous shot or long take (encompassing space + time),-Close up of symbolic objects-see Editing decisions (cuts)

Why (internal decisions making of the subject) Extreme close up, sequence of other shots explaining back story

https://youtu.be/W8YgoZs92Ko

Elements of film making -> Language of film

Elements of film making -> Language of film

Elements of film making -> Language of film

Exercise 2: Shots in Action

• 15 minutes

• In groups of two, where you will switch off, choose a location, subject, and action (e.g., the coffee shop, your activity partner, buying a coffee)

• Shoot four separate video clips, choosing shot options that function to:• Establish the scene

• Introduce the subject

• Highlight the action

• Document the action’s effect on the subject

Pacing and the relation of shot to shot

Single take (continuous shot) All the action takes place in one long take, may involve significant camera movement, implying continuous action

Hard (standard) cuts Cutting from clip A to clip B within the same scene and often between scenes as well

Jump cuts Jumping to a later point in the same scene, usually from the same or slightly different composition, giving the effect of jumping forward in time

Cross dissolves Gradual fade from one shot to another, denoting a significant change in time/space

https://youtu.be/Mcn-B7X7HwQ

Elements of film making -> Language of film

Film editing – 2 platform choices

• Desk/laptop video editing software: Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, iMovie, even Camtasia

• Phone apps: weVideo, iMovie (for iPhone), Power Director (for Android), Adobe Premiere Clip

Elements of film making

Common editing tasks

• Placing and ordering clips on a timeline

• Trimming, cutting, and adjusting clips

• Adding, synchronizing, and adjusting sound

• Adding text or other overlays

Note: Editing decisions are equal parts creative and technical. They can even radically alter your narrative.

Elements of film making -> Editing

Rendering

• Saving your project to an actual video format

• Most common are .mov, .mp4 (WeVideo outputs to this format)

• Consult sharing platforms for their specifications (for compliance and optimization)

Elements of film making: Editing

Exercise 3: You in action (the shoot)!

In groups of two, filmically explore one of the following topics:● Summer fun @ the library● Popular reading collection● Your favourite book or video● Obeying library rules● What makes working in a library (and, by association, you) “cool”

Planning• (Message + Purpose) + (Technique + Technology)

• Keep in mind:

• What is your purpose? Who is your audience?

• How will the film be shared?

• Where will you film and what are the attendant technology considerations?

• Live sound or voiceover?

• Brainstorming

• Storyboarding

• Assembling a team + assigning roles

Brainstorming (based on intended message +purpose)• Ideas (quantity > quality) – never reject out of hand

• Research and note ideas of others who share similar aims + means

• Mind mapping • Review ideas for meaningful and creative connections, beginning with central

ideas

End of term

Good bye Familiar faces in libraries

Branch involvement

SpringBudding

treesStudent

testimonials

Maplein front of HIL

Planning

StoryboardingCreate a plan for your film shoot.

Keep in mind:

• Considerations of scalable media + scalable education (destination audience, media)

• What stories would you like to tell (message + purpose)?

• Will you use narration, subtitles, music?

• Which images will you use?

• Still? Moving? Fictional representations? Documentary images?• Which words/sounds will fit with the images you choose?

Planning

Assembling the team and assigning roles

● Writing ● Directing ● Acting ● Shooting (“Director of Photography” or DOP) ● Sound recording (in realtime)● Editing● Narrating (as part of editing)● Soundtrack / Music (as part of editing)

Planning

Exercise 3 cont.: incorporating what we’ve learned

● 30 -120 seconds, shot with your phone’s camera● Experiment with composition, choose shots purposefully● Edit in WeVideo

○ Give the video a title on title clip○ Select clips for your timeline○ Order and trim clips○ Adjust clip volumes or add voiceover or add music from phone (would need to

give WeVideo permissions in your Privacy settings)

● Save (>) with watermark icon● Upload to either DropBox, iCloud, Google Drive, or some other

high capacity storage service accessible via phone app

The Show!