“A Little Bit of Ben Langdon”

Reflection:

Beginning with what I believe to be successful about the piece, I think the overall editing style is not only pleasing to watch but accurate in its reflection of the chilled atmosphere the combination of cinematography and music is creating. I think overall the video comes together very pleasantly, but there are a few moments – almost exclusively with found materials – that do not flow quite as smoothly. i think these problems stem from a lack of thematic and aesthetic consistency. An example of this is the Guns ‘N’ Roses image sandwiched between two images of other bands on stage. The huge colour difference (black or white backgrounds) doesn’t flow as smoothly as it could have.

I also had trouble with my audio equipment (RODE NT1-A recording through Audacity) during the interview, which I didn’t realise until the recording of the interview was complete. I did do a couple of sound checks, but still ended up with some odd noises and jumpy recording. I learnt the hard way to always do multiple and thorough equipment and checks before recording. Luckily, the room in which we recorded is very quiet and good for recording, so the audio from my camera turned out high enough quality to use. The only negative result from this is a small amount of noise heard under the interview, but it is not a big issue overall.

I did find that the use of found footage can be great in conveying ideas about people and can say a lot more than what you may have access to creating yourself. The words “Foo Fighters” carry more weight when accompanied by an image of them (or Dave Grohl). As I mentioned above however, it is important to find the right materials.They need to accurately convey the idea as well as fit into some kind of theme, which i do not think the image I use when Ben speaks of teaching music does well. Thematic and aesthetic consistency are necessary – unless otherwise intended – are important in making an effective and pleasant piece of audio-visual media.