I may not be good at this yet, but my earlier statement stands in that I need practice making videos in order to improve my abilities.
Back in August, I posted My Video Needs Some TLC about a video that I did for the course I was taking over the Summer, and I would like to revisit that post. The reason being that I did a new video over the weekend on behalf of my chapter that I think was a bit of an improvement, but could definitely use more work.
August 13, 2017
October 14, 2017
Some major differences between August and October are video length, video transitions, and sound quality.
October is shorter in length, has less abrupt/obvious transitions, but is uneven in sound and has a LOT of wind feedback which causes difficulty in understanding the people. On the plus side, the music in the background is not overpowering.
August feels too long, has a lot of movement in transition, has uneven sound levels between recordings, and the background music is too loud.
Both videos have a lot of errors, but there are certain things that I think I can do to improve them for my next session.
First: Buy a Microphone
It became clear to me last Saturday, Octobober 14, 2017, that there was far too much happening onsite, and I needed a way to control what my camcorder was picking up. The camcorder itself is fantastic, and the clarity transfers well onto the desktop, but the microphone isn’t strong enough or focused enough to handle complexity.
Second: Allow Time for Editing
I forgot a lot of the important features that are available in Adobe Premiere Pro, and so both of these videos fell flat in terms of detail and clarity. I need to familiarize myself with the functions and capabilities of this program… and I need to give myself more time in which to edit my footage. I could have worked on removing the wind sound from October if I had more time, but I felt that it was more important to share the story than to perfect the video.
Third: Be Selective in Footage
I spent too much of my memory on panning out and looking at the people working rather than talking and interviewing those involved. The October shot with Don is much clearer in vocals, and it also tells a story. The video itself is also much more effective because it’s not me talking. In my opinion, by having someone else speak, the video quality and value is increased; therefore, I think that going forward, I will focus less on the scenery, and more on talking to people – which I’m really good at!
Kiminy Cricket 