ALD 4.0 - Editing Practice

All footage and tutorials used in this Editing Practice video provided by Hawaii Creative Media.

Using editing techniques keeps the audience intrigued with the story, it adds to the overall story because it can show urgency or terror or any other feeling depending on the story. For editing and adding in cuts in some cases they, yes smoothly transition from one scene to the next, but in the case of smash cuts no because the intent of a smash cut is to surprise or change a mood. For a filmmaker, they must have the audience's feelings in mind. To make the audience feel a type of suspense or anxiety a filmmaker and or an editor would add music to build on the suspense of the actor, for example, is about to open an unknown door or box. Another way would be using invisible transitions from black to something jumping out at that character. The sound is a huge part of a story, having natural sounds adds to the "realness" of the story. Having the creaking of the wood boards under a persons' footsteps adds to the story by giving the audience a feel of how old the house is and a feel of the anxiety of "who is that?" or "whom might it be?".



TAGS:
ALD 4.1: Evaluate diverse processes of forming and conveying a targeted message.
ALD 4.2: Compare and contrast how various audiences perceive digital media to anticipate desired reactions and responses.

ALD 2.0 - Public Service Announcement

A powerful PSA could affect what an audience chooses to do with a future decision on a specific topic. I think a strong enough PSA could persuade a person to act or think differently, it adds a new look on their opinion. In my teams PSA we want to inform the audience on how drinking affects not just the driver, but also the car. The problem we're trying to solve is the prevention of drinking and driving accidents. Though drinking and driving have been done in many PSA's our PSA may show a different point of view. So the driver could put a little more thought into a decision.

The organization that is hosting the PSA video contest for our topic is the State of Hawaii, Department of Health. The Department of Health is a very informational organization that has data on how certain decisions affect a lot and not just one person. A couple of rules that shouldn't be overlooked is the PSA has to be 15-25 seconds long and using a message related to traffic safety. These rules need to be followed because it should represent the organization to the best of our ability to be chosen as one of the winners. And to do that following the rules would be the best start. In this contest or any other contests, I believe Media students earn awards scholarships, and prize money because technology is a part of the new age and for messages to be executed successfully it goes through the media. In a contest, I think the students benefit the most because they learn new skills and have opportunities to push their media career.

Our PSA went through a lot of trimming and re-doing, but we are satisfied with how it turned out. Before our rough cut we had a typical scene by scene PSA, but after our rough cut we came out with a more unique way to give show our message. From our rough cut, we needed to re-do our voiceover so it sounded more natural as we spoke. To fully shoot this successfully Hii'lei as well as myself went over the script acting out how we would speak for the voiceover. We also needed to shoot another scene with the "good" or "healthy" driver which I did the day of rough cuts. Later we added the "dramatic" soundtrack on which we edited on Garage Band. These changes help boost the quality of the PSA itself. Our best scores were in "Overall Message" and I agree with the results because considering team struggles we pulled through and we at least made an impact on others. The best compliment of the critique was a person saying that "The idea of the talking cars is really interesting and unique." They also said that the video was comprehensible for the audience.

TAGS:
ALD 2.1 Assess the evolution of digital media as it affects and is affected by society.
ALD 2.2 Assess changes in technology and markets as it affects digital media designs.

ALD 4.0 - Cinemagraphs

A Cinemagraph is a blend of photo and video to have an illusion of stopped time while one element is moving in a looping action undetectable to the viewer. A video used to make this project work is a video with one focus of motion so editing can be accomplished. To compose a cinemagraph first a cinemagraph needs to be shot as a video. Second, freezing unwanted movement. Third, edit the movement so it is in an undetectable loop. Lastly, publish the finished piece. An improvement for this project would be having more experience. A strength would be the knowledge we have received before starting our first cinemagraph and make it look pretty cool for our first try.

For my second attempt, I have my sister sitting on a stone wall just looking out away from the camera. There is going to be some sort of action in the background that is frozen so it looks like a photo. The only moving part is going to be something connected to her body. I am going to use a handheld tripod that I have at home to make this video as still as possible. Later I am going to edit the cinemagraph using "Final Cut Pro" to finish this project. With some help from team members, I can make sure it has a smooth loop.

My second cinemagraph came out how I wanted it to. I believe it is better than the first one I made since that was my first try. For my third and final try, I have to pay more attention to the details on what is happening behind the moving subject. In my last cinemagraph, I am going to have my cat laying down being a cat. He will be frozen in time while my dog is barking in the background. I will use the ground as a stable natural tripod to keep my video steady so the cinemagraph will have the best quality for illusion.

My third cinemagraph came out just how I wanted. I had a few bumps in the process. For example, I couldn't make the loop smooth enough, my dog would leap from one position to the next noticeably. I fixed the problem with success. The purpose of a cinemagraph is to capture an audience with something more unique than just a photo or video. Anyone can have a photo of a person jumping, but with a cinemagraph it adds a little more animation to a freeze shot. After getting the results on the critique I agree with what came out of it because according to the rubric I believe I rank as a "Expert" on my third cinemagraph. The third cinemagraph was creative and unique it also came together perfectly with editing, though it was challenging.

TAGS:
ALD 4.1: Evaluate diverse processes of forming and conveying a targeted message.
ALD 4.2: Compare and contrast how various audiences perceive digital media to anticipate desired reactions and responses.

Image Compositing

Hybrid imagery is two or multiple images being used to make one image. These types of photos are created to make the viewer more interested in the image. This rule is four lines intersecting at certain points and is said if you make the main subject on one of the intersecting lines than the photo will have more impact, in some cases the rule can be broken only if there is a better impact not to follow it. The rule of thirds is used to make the photo "more balanced and will enable a viewer of the image to interact with it more naturally," stated in an article named Rule of Thirds by Darren Rowse. I agree with this because many of photos taken that use the rule of thirds and are very more interesting. One example of using the rule of thirds would be incorrectly framing wrong and having the subject not exactly on the intersection. Professional photographers think about what they want to include in the photo and what not to. I believe some photos should be edited with a good reasoning. If the photographer believes the photo needs more or less color than that would be a good reason. Another example would be if the photo has too much exposure to the sun than the photographer would lower the brightness to give the photo more quality.

The strongest message I want to communicate through my best composite image concept would be "With growth comes peace." I chose this as my best image composite because we become more accepting of who we are and become at peace with it and express it even more. In one of my images there is a hand doing a peace sign using flat angle, than in a couple more images there is flowers with a semi blurry background. My image will communicate this message because the hand will represent peace and usually flowers symbolizes growth. I made the background behind the hand black so the focus point is peace sign with flowers growing out of it. I anticipate the location where the viewers eyes will go to the flowers first because the contrast of the yellow is bolder than the peace sign.

ACO 3.1 Analyze how elements and principles of design in various forms of media are applied to communicate to a specific audience.
ACO 3.2 Critique how the effective integration of elements and principles of design within a variety of medium impact target audiences.
ACO 3.3 Apply elements and principles of design to clarify, focus, or enhance a message or concept for a target audience.