Some people enjoy all the aspects of video including the conceptualization,
filming, etc. This had to be the most difficult project this semester. Between
coordinating with the groups, tie constraints and the “abstract” concept, this
project was definitely more difficult than originally anticipated.
The most difficult part of this project was starting it. “Abstract”
is a concept that takes on so many different meanings so it was a challenge to
try to come up with an appropriate theme for the personal and group video. The
group decided to focus on the idea of color and how often specific colors are
seen throughout life the definition of abstract is “existing in thought or as an idea but not having a physical
or concrete existence.” Some examples of this concept include, but aren’t limited
to love, happiness and beauty. The idea of what is beautiful, love and
happiness all means different things to people, so everyone can interpret the
group video differently.
The group focused on the colors red, pink, purple and green.
Each color represented a different person and everything that person enjoyed
doing. For example, the group member that chose the color pink had to display
things they enjoyed or encountered throughout life that was pink. As stated
earlier, happiness is an abstract concept, so the video displays things in
his/her life that makes them happy.
In between the personal videos would be clips of each group member’s
handprints. Although each individual group member was assigned a different color,
the group as a whole are similar because they all represent a different “color
of life.” It’s too often that people focus on Black, White, Asian, Native
American, etc., so these colors give outsiders the chance to identify more with
the idea of colors not assigned to a specific race. Two group members showed
themselves at a concert so the audience can conclude that while they were at separate
concerts, they have the love of concerts and music in common. The other two
group members focused on their love of dogs. In both of their personal videos,
the audience was able to see their dogs and how important the dogs were in
their lives. Dogs are known as “man’s best-friend” and best-friends generally speaking
make people happy so the idea of including music and animals visually depicts
the ideas of beauty, love and happiness.
Working in iMovie was relatively easy. After dragging each video
clip down into the bar, putting it together wasn’t exactly rocket science. Working
in iMovie allowed the group to add music, transitions and control the speed of
the video. Throughout the group video, there were sections that were slowed
down and some that were sped up as well as videos played in reverse. In addition
to the frames being slowed down, one group member even slowed down the audio.
In a particular frame, a group member can be seen pouring an
alcoholic beverage into a glass. In the original frame (wasn’t showed in class)
showed this same beverage being poured into the cup and the drink spilling over
the rim of the glass. After adding the “reverse” function to the video, the
drink can be seen spilling over the edge of the glass and then going back into
the bottle. In addition to being slowed down and reversed, the music that accompanied
the video was a song “Get Lit” by rapper ASAP Rocky. The song is about drinking
and smoking so it is very fitting for the video. The song was also slowed down
to draw the viewers’ attention to the fact that this was a red alcoholic drink.
Red was one of the group member’s assigned colors so viewers can understand this
person enjoys drinking.
For the group portion of the video, the hardest parts had to
be deciding what would tie everyone together and when we would get it all done.
Since all the group members have their own lives, scheduling was a definite
issue. The idea of using handprints and paint gave the group the opportunity to
finish the project in time and also create this abstract concept. The group
used acrylic paint that allowed for easy clean up. The first part of the video
the group filmed was each member’s handprint. No two handprints are alike so
this was a visual representation of individuality. The part of the project that
tied each group member together was when each group member put their handprint
on top of each other in the middle of the poster board. At this point, you can
see the original, individual handprints in the four corners and now they are
all brought together in the middle. In order to make this shot a little more
creative, this portion of video was slowed down and reversed. Instead of seeing
each member place their hand in the middle of the poster board, the audience
can now see the handprints being taken away from the poster board and the
middle of the board is back white. This visually communicates the idea of coming
together and being happy and going separate ways and returning to things that
make each individual group member happy.
Since all the group members are college students, each of
them has their own individual struggles as far as school is concerned. The last
time each of the group members coated their hands in paint and made handprints
was grammar school. In grammar school, no one is worried about turning in a
1,000 blog post so returning to something that once made everyone happy is a
visual reminder of what once made us happy.
The entire video as a whole was supposed to convey the
message of happiness, beauty and love. The group focused on what or who made
each person happy, what beauty meant to each individual and what or who did
each group member love. What each person defines as abstract is unique to that
individual so this group video shows this. The hand prints also create an
abstract idea of togetherness and individuality.
Videos:
Group: https://youtu.be/s90qEXSxOrw
Personal:
https://youtu.be/KciUMUcBFh8
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