Video Project: Reflection

    This video project had to convey what it was like to be a Buffalo State College student during a worldwide pandemic. For someone unfamiliar with storytelling through videography and the unique editing process that goes with it, this project would probably be difficult on some level. Not only do the visuals need to be considered, but the audio as well. And not using any text on screen to tell the story was probably hard to resist. But as someone who is a visual storyteller for a living, this was a pretty familiar and fun project to do.

    For shooting, editing and uploading the video, there were not really any issues that were encountered. This whole project was familiar, from filming to using iMovie to edit and posting online, and just felt like a usual workflow. It was quite strange though being in front of the camera instead of behind it, and just having to switch perspectives from the videographer to the subject and videographer was a fun change. It just required a new way of thinking and consideration for angles and shots. For instance, to film myself walking out of one room and walking into another would require setting up the camera in one room, recording me walking out, coming back in, stopping the video, going to the next room, setting up the camera, starting the recording, leaving the room, waiting a second or two, and then walking into the room. It was just all tedious as compared to how usually the videographer just follows the subject, or in my case, I have 2 other videographers around to capture all of these other angles for me instead of it all being just me.

    Using video to communicate is very different than if someone were to use photography or writing to communicate. Using video instead of photo or writing is beneficial when creating something short and to the point like this video project. When the goal is to communicate a message or overall idea that viewers will instantly understand in a short period of time (like 20 seconds for instance), that is when videography becomes highly beneficial. People tend to be visual learners, and seeing something play out in front of their eyes, if done correctly, can be a quick and effective way to communicate an idea and have the viewer be receptive to the idea.

    The nature of a video changed the way I chose to convey the message, being a student during a pandemic. If I had recorded a usual day or week in my life, first off, it would probably be quite boring and not keep the viewers attention. But also, it being so short of a video, there wasn't time to record every detail in depth, so I had to be representational when it came to some things like getting dressed or putting makeup on. Conveying my moods and emotions in the video was not a natural representation as well. It was all more dramatic than what I do in real life, but that was necessary to convey to the viewer what I was feeling. For instance, when I closed my laptop and flopped upside down on my bed in exhaustion, that isn't something that I would normally do when tired, but that helped the viewer to understand the exhausted feeling I had and the relief I felt from putting the work away for the day. Normally, I would have just closed my laptop and went on my phone or turned on the TV to kind of unwind, but that wouldn't really convey the same emotion that I wanted to in that moment in the video. So, overall, filming this, I had to be more dramatic and expressive than I normally would, to illustrate moods and feelings that were important to the overall message of the video.

Overall, this was a really fun project to do and a great experience. Like anything meant to help a person grow, this challenged my usual perspectives and required a different way of thinking, for both filming and conveying a message. The only major challenge was being the videographer and the subject, so having to film every aspect from all angles by myself became a bit tedious, and most of what I filmed didn't even make it into the final cut because of the time restriction. The time restriction also made it vital that I as the subject be more dramatic than I normally would in real life to illustrate to the viewer how I was feeling, what I was doing, etc...

Full Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiEehdZQpso&t=3s

Teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMunjk_s5Qo