In the construction of my video I used a lot of different technologies and methods. I filmed it all using a Panasonic camcorder. I edited everything on an Apple iMac using iMovie '09. I really like using the Macs for editing, I get along with iMovie particularly well. It can be a little infuriating at times when some features aren't in the version available, or the times when it randomly changes the settings. Other than those irritating moments, overall it is a brilliant program I'd love to work more with, and hopefully go on to FinalCutPro.
Here are my particular construction tools:
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Green Screen:
I used a green screen for most of my shots and edited them on with iMovie. I learnt how to get the most out of the green screen. It became apparent that pinning the corners to the wall so the fabric was stretched tightly with minimal creases produced the best effect. I spent quite a bit of time experimenting with the green screen and iMovie to perfect it before filming the actual video. I taught myself how to add green screen layers to existing videos.
Unfortunately with iMovie, it is only possible to add one layer to a video, which became a problem when I wanted to add more. I solved this problem by exporting the first layered video as a HD project, before importing it and adding another layer on top of that. Although this worked to get the effect of several layers (particularly with my green screen stop motion over Tom over the sky) it did significantly decrease the overall video quality, leaving it faded and pixelated. It also meant that if I were to edit the green screen layer I could only do it once, and then after it was exported, imported and the second layer added, I couldn't change anything on the first layer unless I began it all again (which I had to do a few times).
I sifted through the various settings and searched online for a solution to the pixelation, but the only option seemed to be to install a version of iMovie that supported plug ins, which I didn't have the access to do; or to purchase FinalCutPro which I can't afford. I felt like my video was ruined by the sheer drop in quality, and I debated losing the effects just to keep the quality (I export my videos regularly and keep back ups just in case I change my mind or have to back-track) but I had nothing to fill the gaps without adding layers. So stuck in my dilemma, I decided to look outside the box. It took a fair while but eventually my persistence paid off! I discovered that if you change the entire problem section of the dual/triple layered video so it has a 'Hard Light' effect, the pixelation completely vanishes and the colours appear really bold! I was so happy and proud to have figured it out, so I carried on layering my video and going ahead with all my original ideas.
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Stop Motion:
I used a Panasonic DMC-TZ6 camera on a tripod to take photos of fridge magnet letters to form the title of the song. In truth, I must have looked an odd sight - I had the green screen resting on a table with colourful letters arranged spelling 'Vince The Loveable Stoner' with a tripod on top of the table, me standing on a chair taking a photo, leaning over the move the letters a millimetre, take another photo...etc. It took about an hour and a half to take around 250 photos of these letters forming the words.
I then uploaded them to iPhoto on the Macs, and imported them to iMovie. I changed the frame time for each photo (in one go, not seperately or I would've been there years!) to 0:03 which is the standard for basic stop motion. Unfortunately iMovie wouldn't allow 0:03, so I had to make do with 0:10 with the intention of speeding it up after I'd exported it as a movie.
This worked, but firstly I had the problem of the preset photo settings. It was set so every photo had the Ken Burns effect so the image would zoom in across the frame time; so that meant at such a high speed each image zoomed really quickly and the whole thing was ridiculously jumpy. I fixed it by cancelling the Ken Burns effect on my project as a whole, then exporting it and speeding it up to a decent speed.
I then exported the sped up version and imported it as a green screen effect onto the already green screen-ed video of the sky with Tom over the top. Due to the fact I'd taken the photos on a green screen background, my newly created stop motion video was able to happily layer over the entire video!
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Ancillary Tasks:
I used Wix to create my website for Stereotypical Blues Train. I like this web-based website builder. It's better than some in my opinion, because although there isn't the freedom to create a site entirely from scratch as there would be using a program (like Serif WebPlusX4 for example) it is very good for special features that would otherwise be rather tricky.
I used a mixture of programs to create my digipak. Mostly I used Picnik for the effects, Picasa for the structuring, placement, contrast editing, and text adding etc. I prefer to work on a selection of programs as it opens new worlds of effects and options rather than being limited by a scarce selection you might find in a single program like these. I like to utilise the most helpful options and build together a final product which will look a lot more professional than had it been created in one.
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Research:
I used the Internet to do my research, particularly using websites like YouTube and DailyMotion to watch videos. I used Wikipedia and various search engines like Google to get the information I needed. Other sites available to me include survey websites and social networking sites which proved very helpful for getting opinions on my project.
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Evaluation:
I used the camcorder and green screen again for my evaluation. I did this so it would be clear which part of the video my audience are talking about in the audience response videos. I put their seats in front of the green screen and positioned my camcorder so they sat just in the side of the frame before I interviewed them. I later put their comments over the relevant sections of the video so it is clear to see using iMovie to cut down the irrelevant sections and to make it more entertaining and comprehensive with titles etc.
I also used the Internet to exhibit my final products to a wider audience, which recieved a warm welcome, particularly on FaceBook and YouTube. I also used my email account to send my work to the Head of Media at Aberystwyth. And of course I used Blogger to document everything.
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