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Jim Krause | Classes | P351 Video Field & Post Production

Week 7

Agenda/Reality Check

  • No Lab this week, so you can work on your Interview/Feature Stories. We'll watch and review these next week in lab and carry out Peer Critiques.
  • However there are two things due by the start of lab:
    • Lighting lab (media and log/critique) NOTE: I didn't see the media from all the students in OneDrive yet.
    • Art VIdeo pre-production work (proposal, treatment, and artistic statement) Due by 5 PM Friday
  • Be sure to watch: Grip it Good.
  • Midterm Exam Next Week! (Will do some review later)
  • Final Project and Drama Storytelling proposals and treatments are due in two weeks.

Interview/Feature Story - A few reminders:

  • Timing should be EITHER 2 or 3 minutes from fade up to fade out
  • Not appropriate to have rolling credits. Work titles/credits in tastefully with the video (like in the examples we saw). There is no need to thank your subject, as they are being featured. A simple title and produced by is all you need.
  • Cover interview edits with B-roll. B-roll works best when it connects with the dialog and in a grouping of shots (shoot your B-roll as you would a continuity sequence). Other strategies for B-roll include:
    • Literal - literally represents the audio content or anything related to it.
    • Metaphoric/Figurative - abstractly represents content
    • Environmental - Explores the environment and places attention on the surroundings
  • Spend time on sound design. All talking is numbing after a while. Work in natural sound or a montage.
  • Spend time on visual design (titles, graphics, etc.)
  • Dedicate time for adjusting video levels, color correction, titles, etc.

Art & Music Videos

What are they & why are they made? (Who is the audience & what is the objective?)

A good Art Video should have purpose:

  • To make an artistic statement
  • Embed a political or social message (E.g. Invisible Children campaign)
  • Often part of a marketing strategy (sell a song/performer)
  • To show off beauty, skills, production artistry

Many hope for a viral video (Who hasn't seen Wrecking Ball, Blurred Lines, or an OK Go video?)

Art videos span all different genres including: time lapse, animation, puppetry, live-action, and experimental videos.

Review Art Video Deliverables

Examples:

Timelapse:

Tilt-Shift

Nature/Model/fashion shoot:

Puppetry:

Stop Motion Animation:

While a few make a living just by producing music videos, most producers/directors work on other genres and types of projects. A few good videos can lead to larger projects. Michel Gondry gained a reputation from his creative and elaborate music videos. This led to commercials and films. The same is true with Spike Jonze, who was first known for his high-art music videos. Jonze later went on to direct movies like Being John Malkovich.

Art Video Production Techniques -----------------------------

Keep in mind an underlying theory which applies to the montage:

"The whole is greater than the sum of the parts"

One can juxtapose two separate shots together and get a more intense whole.

Live action music videos often employ parallel editing (cross cutting). This can be a performer in different locations, a connected storyline, or abstract representation. This is a good technique that one can use with music, dance, spoken word, etc.

To capture repetitive takes in the field with consistent tempo, use pre-recorded audio playback via a boom box. This will ensure perfect timing.

For multi-take live performance in a single location: Consider what camera shots you need to cut between (E.g. Wide shot, medium shot and close-ups). Have your performer run through the song three times and capture (without stopping) each camera perspective. It's usually easiest if you pull the audio from the close-up camera as this is the trickiest to match.

Time-lapse

TIme-lapse photography is a technique used in cinematography where frames are captured at a much slower frame rate than how they are played back.

We generally playback film at 24 fps and broadcast TV at about 30 fps.

For time-lapse sequences you'll be capturing frames at a much slower rate. What the rate is depends upon what effect you are trying to achieve and what your subject matter is.

What you need:

  • DSLR or other camera capable of capturing single frames
  • Stable tripod
  • Intervalometer (Some cameras, like the Canon 80D have one built in. Others require an external intervalometer.)
  • Shutter release (optional)

Here are some starter settings for shooting time-lapse sequences.

  • Use a very stable tripod - make sure that camera won't move if you have to adjust a camera setting
  • For street scenes: take a shot approximately every 2 seconds
  • For capturing the path of the sun or shadows capture a shot approximately every 30 seconds
  • For night sky: take a shot approximately every 30 seconds. Be sure you turn on “Long Exposure Noise Reducation”

Camera settings:

  • Use manual white balance
  • Use manual focus
  • Turn off image stabilizer (can alter position of image)
  • Use JPEG (as big as you need and no larger)

Shutter/Exposure:

Use slower shutter speeds than for typical photography. Consider your DOF carefully. You likely want a smaller aperture (larger f-stop) in order to get a wide depth of field- unless you are trying to achieve selective focus or tilt-shift sequences.

Time-lapse Tutorials:

Night Sky Photography

Vocabulary - Be sure you know these words:

  • intervalometer
  • Tilt-shift lens
  • Time-lapse

 

Review for Midterm

 

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