This sketch made me understand that the videos Devin makes are tremendously difficult. Maybe it’s because I’m a total amateur for this or maybe it’s because the time to do this project is short, I don’t know. Then again, people usually go on trips for about a week or so. In any case this stuff is no walk in the park.
The theme for this sketch was “What makes Melbourne CBD, Melbourne CBD” which is similar to the example’s “Things that remind you of Italy”. To help me with this, I secretly followed what tourists would take pictures of which were mostly statues, horses, graffiti, and old buildings with historical value. My route was A’beckett Street -> Swanston Street -> Flinder’s Street -> Queen Street. I also took a detour and went to film the lane with all the graffiti on the walls. When I was done I noticed most of my shots were taken around Swanston and Flinder’s Street. I had gotten shots of:
- Statues
- Horses
- Graffiti
- Landmarks
- Trains
- Uniquely designed Buildings
- Trams
- Churches
- Seagulls
- Flags
- People
I filmed about 180 shots for this sketch. Only 12 ended up in the video. Most of the shots were different angles, frames and such. Some were failed shots because one: too much shakiness (I can’t let ol’ tripod out all the time), two: people got in the way, and three: things like poles and signs got in the way.
After collecting all the material I needed I proceeded to finally sit down and edit. However, I first needed music. I spent hours trying to find one that was evocative yet subtle. This was the result. Much to my surprise I had to eliminate most of the shots that were usable from the list because they didn’t “fit” in with the music. The music also had an influence on what shot should be in what order, the speed duration, and the duration of the shot itself. The 4 second black shot was also a result of it; I just didn’t have a suitable shot for that segment.
I’m beginning to suspect that most of the videos were planned before Devin goes into the field to start shooting. I mean, if music has a such a strong influence on how the video is structured, wouldn’t you first find a suitable music to use, imagine what the video would look like with that music, then start shooting? Now I wonder how this video would have turned out if I had the music first and not the other way around… Intriguing.
What I would change for this video: I would have gotten more indoor shots. It had only occurred to me at the end that I forgot about those shopping arcades in Melbourne.
What I learned from this is that most of the time buildings should be filmed in a wide shot. Objects on the other hand are usually in medium closeup or close up. This is because unlike a building, an object is relatively smaller and thus require less distance to observe/investigate. It is an exception when the object is part of a scene that needs to be taken in a wide shot.