Fall Semester Wrapup (blog from 12/22/17)

As our semester draws to a close, take some time to reflect on what you've learned. Write down three things that you've learned and how they will improve your video projects in the future. For those that are continuing into next semester, also list three things that you are looking forward to learning in the Spring. Why do you want to learn these things? What do you want to concentrate on doing better? What could you improve? What kind of projects are you looking forward too?

Things I have learned

1. I learned that the pre-production process is a lot more necessary than I believed previously. The entire process of pre-production seemed to be excruciatingly long when I first learned the concept, but as I completed the pre production for my group projects, I noticed various points that needed to be addressed before shooting. It allowed me to look back at my plan thoroughly and understand which points I have missed and how the entire video flows throughout. 

2. I learned the competitive nature of the film industry. One of the most memorable experiences in the first semester was the face-to-face interview I had with a person who was currently working as a filmmaker. We talked for over an hour about his experiences and his advice for future filmmakers who are interested in film. It was very memorable how he emphasized the harsh realities of payment and employment in the competitive industry. It gave me a better insight on what kind of mindset I needed if I were to think about professionally working as a filmmaker.

3. I learned the different perks and setbacks of various softwares. Coming into SVCTE, I assumed that Premiere Pro was above all, the best editing software out there. However, as I worked with the software, I became aware that it is more effective to utilize different soft wares for different uses. For example, Davinci Resolve is strong in color grading, regarding that the editing and the grading feature is built into the same program. Premiere Pro, on the other hand, is stronger at handling special effects. Because Premiere Pro is a much more popular software, there are more plugins that can be downloaded to enhance the video. Furthermore, AVIUTL is strong on graphics, as every bit of the motion and shape of a graphic can be altered one's ideal style.

Thing I want to learn in the spring

1. This spring, I want to be able to learn how to use more film making equipment to enhance my videos. For starters, I want to be able to use the Osmo Pro for a more cinematic, stable shot. Being able to use this will help improve my videos, regarding how much lighter the camera is compared to the large Sony camcorders. Therefore, the Osmo can be carried to places that would have been too dangerous on the camcorders.

2. I want to be able to use different setting for videos. For example, I want to use 4K to shoot my videos to give me more room to image stabilize, crop, or use other ways of altering the footage without lowering the video quality below 1080. Regarding how the Osmo has the capability to shoot in 4K, I am excited to see how this high resolution will give me more options in post. Furthermore, I want to learn which cameras are able to shoot in Raw, to see the difference in flexibility when putting it into color grading. It will be interesting to see a non-grainy footage even when the exposure is increased.

3. I am excited to learn how to shoot a music video in the spring semester. Before I came to this class, the type of content I was making was mainly focused on creating videos that match perfectly to the music. Music videos can give me all of the flexibility to perform interesting color grading that came off as unnatural in normal films.