This week I began accumulating ideas and resources for my final media artefact.
Most of my researching was already undertaken in preparation for my studio presentation, however this week I began to research more into exact clips, images, audio and other artefacts I could use to incorporate my video.
I have been really struggling to find footage of microbeads in action, in water, considering this is extremely hard to shoot without the correct equipment, I really need to find the footage online. This youtube video, “The Problem with Microplastics” has some very useful and relevant clips and visuals that I could use for my artefact. This Video also is used for an educational purpose, not advertising or marketing, which is one of my constraints; meaning this is a very useful resource for me creating my artefact.
When I reflect on microbeads and their effect on aquatic habitats, I think of how this might effect my home and most special place, Kangaroo Island. This island has pristine white beaches and clear water, with plenty of aquatic wildlife that we see often. I began to look through footage I had shot from the time over the years I had spent there, and i decided I most definitely wanted to incorporate this into my video, not only as I believe it was useful and great footage, but also to create a personal experience in the video. This was a new idea wasn’t spoken of during my studio presentation. I aim to use this footage as a segway into the introduction of microbeads in the ocean. Here is an example of some footage I found.
I started to collate different ideas of how I could use sound to create impact, and what types of sound I could use. To push myself as a media creator, I want to use a collation of overlaying sound effects, to accompany my video. I began to search through software programme, “Pro Tools Studio” and explored different sound effects available. I then in started to experiment with different sound overlay in GarageBand, which was difficult at first, but after watching a few youtube tutorial videos, I got the swing of it. Below is a snippet of one of my options for the final track. I really enjoyed this experience as it wasn’t something that I had done before.
usp=sharinghttp://drive.google.com/file/d/1sPbM_JMWEJUkUDQGEHSMe6Gyd1-Yygkv/view?usp=sharing
I decided to use audio from a vintage commercial for cosmetics to bookmark my video and represent the mask that the industry puts on beauty products. An issue I encountered in this process was that the audio has music in it, which would therefore mean I wasn’t working with my constraint of no music. As shown in the below screenshot (top right), I had to use the ‘reduce background noise’ element of the programme, and enhance human voices in the equaliser by 56%. This was extremely helpful, however meant that the quality and clarity of the audio was compromised. I found this a challenging and time consuming part of the editing process.
Ultimately I am really excited to finish my artefact, and am feeling confident that it will be something I am really proud of. Although at times difficult, I am enjoying challenging myself as a media creator, in order to improve and learn.