Video editing process and audio production

For this project, we used Sony Vegas as our video-editing tool. During the editing process, I not only recalled the memory of what I have learned in university, but also started to get familiar with some new skills.

There are two special points that we tried to present in our film:

1. The progress of message sending

From the hand-write letter, mobile message, instant message, social network platform to the future message sending technology, we use the development of technology as a time travel machine, and eventually, back to the original spirit of letter, SHARING, during last letter in the film.

2. 50 years old celebration

It is not just a story of our memory in Warwick, but also a celebration of Danae’s 50 years old birthday. The ‘50’ concept coincidentally connected the core topic of Warwick project and our own history of friendship. In the last part of the film, after receiving the message from Danae, six of us surprisingly reunite together again. In addition to showing communication without borders, this also presented that people can be together with no distance because of the globalization and fast development of technology.

Step1. Voiceover and music

In order to present the letter concept, we found that what was the most important in our film would be the feeling of sharing. Letter itself contains the expression of caring and the eagerness of contacting. Therefore, we tried to express the emotions through voiceover. At first, we chose to record it in the same space so that we could double check the quality for each other. But during the process of recording, we noticed some problems, such as the speed wasn’t easy to be control because of the time limitation. And it also wasn’t easy to express the emotion in voice as we expected. After watching the first cut and the presentation, we received many helpful suggestions about the performance of voiceover. Interesting voiceover makes film less redundant and raises the entertainingness.

For improve the sound performance, we changed to record the voice alone, and revised it several times. Afterward, we found that it would be much better to express the emotion if we cut off some lines, adjust the speed, and make some appropriate stop in the end of paragraphs.

One of the best part of our video is the music. The two soundtracks were made by Katie’s flatmate. Besides of the originality, the sound of guitar also functioned as comfort, which bring up and down of the emotional expression, and it was also the key element of connection among six stories.

In addition to combining the music and voiceover, we also attempted to present ‘the sound of digital technology progress’ in beginning of each one’s stories. The combination of the voiceover, music, and sound effect completed the sound performance of our video.

Step2. Links between six stories

‘The cinema is truth twenty-four times per second.’ – Jean-Luc Godard

According to Godard’s quote, which is also the basic principle of film, I understand that videos are not just one and another photographs, but it is how a link between images connects with the true impressions and stories in human brain.

In the story of letters, we wanted to use the memory to tell a story of Warwick. The sequence of each stories presented ‘why Warwick’, ‘Warwick and personal life’, and ‘ what did Warwick give us after graduation’. Luckily, we had so many different kinds of resources for our video. For example, we have a professional photographer responsibly presented a lot of beautiful pictures on campus, and the past three years of Katie staying in Warwick also provided another special angle for the story.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, at the U.S. National Library of Medicine, the average attention span of a human being has dropped from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds in 2013 thanks to the social network. And another earlier study of TubeMogul in 2010 also showed that at the 30 second mark, we already lost a third of the audience and after a minute we lost more than half.

In order not to bore our audience, we found that the most appropriate performance was combining 5-6 photos per minutes in static and dynamic states. By moving the lens, and make some transitions for each stories, the audience will be more concentrated on the video.

An example of still pictures with voiceover：

Another example with dynamic camera lens makes the video more vivid.

There are lots of online self-learning materials of video editing. From this experience, I became more skilled in editing, and I realized the importance of patience and carefulness when experiencing the exercising of theory and practice. The infectivity of film conquers the audience sense perception and emotions, which is more powerful than other medium. Not to mention the importance of videos as a tool in digital communication. This project still has some spaces to be improved, what I learned the most was how to tell a story in limited duration, and a good concept can be more convincing and sharable with a good storytelling.

Video Example

This is the short film i was planning to show you, i found the 2mins version.

[sharing] 5 Ideas to tell our stories

For our video references, I tried to find some examples of storytelling, though it seems impossible to make a storytelling presentation as the same standard as those videos,  we can still produce one by combining pictures, short clips and some voice over with the formats.

Through the examples I found online, they all have a same essence which is ‘ the story must be common but not cheesy.’ In other words, their scripts describe the stories we can easily relate with, attracting people’s attention and raising our emotion.

A. 6 stories, 1 concept

Using 6 stories through the same element (ex. map) to tell the concept(ex. finding the new way).

Example, we can talk about the story  #courage @beijing, and then #freedom@Taipei,etc..  All the stories lead to the core concept, which is connection, sharing and collaboration.

In this format, we need to prepare: photos, voice over recording, some clips, and music

• Advantage: Audiences can understand each of our Warwick stories clearly, and the core concept can be presented fluently.
• Challenge: The element to connect each stories has to be strong, or the video would be flat.

B. Focus on the concept

Without  tell everyone’s story specifically, the video focus on the concept by  inserting our photos to connect each one’s story.

Example, “In our whole life, we all look for something, we have goals, we chase for a better life. someone dreams about change, someone dreams about happiness. but what exactly did you do to win it?…..” using the opening to link with each other’s clips.

In this format, we need to prepare:  Touching or fun scripts, one voice over, photos, and music

• Advantage: Simple, and clean point of view, the temple could be controlled so the video would not be slow and boring.
• Challenge:  An interesting script and we would probably need  more time on preparing materials and after effect.

C. A letter to someone

Make the film like a massage to someone.

Example, “Dear mom and dad, this is my 123 days in Warwick…..”  Writing a letter to express our personal experience and emotions.

In this format, we need to prepare: a script, voice over, photos and music

• Advantage: Easy to tell stories, and the audiences also play the roles of recipients.
• Challenge: 10 mins would be a too long for reading a letter.

D. A day in Warwick

By presenting a day in Warwick, we can make Warwick CCPS the best study environment without using words to sell this concept.

Example, Using pictures/ clips from morning to night on campus and combining with the sound effects and music.

In this format, we need to prepare: photos, our daily schedule, music and sound effects

• Advantage: Distinguished from others video, and much  closer to the facts.
• Challenge: We have to select the events and spend a lot of time on preparing materials.

E. Interview style

Real interview would make the video more solid and trustable.

Example, We have to record the dialogues when discussing about the first day in Warwick, how we got our offers, what we’ve learned so far, what happened last weekend, and who did funny things, etc..

In this format, we need to prepare: interview preparation, clips, photos ,sound effects, and music

• Advantage: This video can be the answers of a lot of questions from the international students.
• Challenge: The scripts must be fun and inspiring, or it would loss the audiences very soon.

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