Video Madness
Submitted by AnswerDog on Sun, 03/21/2010 - 21:31
First of all, happy first few days of spring! (even though it's been welcomed by snow flurries...).
Version française: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu4-fp8kc8s
The much talked about PSA video for Femmetoxic is finally finished! There were some obstacles(especially technical difficulties!). I've decided to share with you the experience of making a video, and although this blog post is not very focused on cosmetics, I still hope you'll enjoy it.
Step 1: Storyboard
I've always had problems with storyboards. I always take so long to draw the pictures! but hey it's definetly essential when making a video. It allows you to create an idea without the limits of real life(budget, equipment, props etc.). A tip my teachers gave me is that, even before the initial storyboard, it's good to write ALL of your ideas, even the crazy ones, because you never know what good concepts might come out from your unfiltered thoughts on paper.
After showing my inital storyboard, our team realized that it was too complicated to get the props, so we settled for a much simpler storyline. Sometimes ideas are put in the back burner, but they can always be picked up in the future, so don't lose hope when something doesn't work out!
Step 2: The Shoot
Once the main idea was established, we got down to business: planning the shoot. You might have already seen come pictures from Au Naturel's post. We were very fortunate that some awesome people lent us their equipment and home for the shoot.
The props also had to be made. Personally, I love creating props from scratch; it really gives that DIY feeling to a video, which is inspiring because it reminds everyone how you don't need that big hollywood budget to make some movies!
We scheduled to meet at 9am the day of the shoot, gave ourselves an hour lunch at 1pm, and expected to shoot until 6pm. We actually finished at 3, but I've learnt from experience that it's always a good idea to give yourself extra time for a shoot. You never know for how long you're going to have to repeat takes!
Working with teams is fun, but I do realize that sometimes people are bored at shoots. Unless you're the director, actor, or cameraman, there is going to be some sitting around. But everyone's help is needed! There's always some lighting to be fixed and it makes time go by much faster when you're joking around in a big group.
Step 3: Editing
Editing has always been my favorite part of making a video. It's the thrill of knowing that you're in complete control of the tone, rhythm and mood of the whole thing!
I was having some minor setbacks with the size of the file for each shot because we recorded with a high-quality camera, but I was editing with a low quality editor. Technology is a tricky thing when you make movies. I should know, my computer crashed with the finished copy in it! Luckily I saved it and was able to use a higher quality video editor(Final Cut for Macs, to be exact).
You might have a chance to use high quality equipment, but most of the time you're going to have to work with what you have at hand. I've made the mistake of creating excuses for not doing something just because the quality is not high enough. Don't be like me and get out there and do things, even if it's just with your camera phone!
Step 4: The Showing!
I really do want to know what everyone thinks! Would you change anything? If so, what would you have done instead?
This really couldn't have been done without the support of the whole Femmetoxic team and our friends at BCAM and Girls Action. I just wanted to thank everyone who helped with even the tiniest detail in the making of this video, and to everyone who watches it.
Thank you everyone! and Happy spring :).
Rosario.
This was posted by courtesy of: www.whiterockreporter.com
