Video Editing Reflection

The first thing I would do differently would be an adjustment in the way that we filmed the piece. Originally I thought that it would be easiest on us (editing wise) if we filmed all of the dialogue as stand alone shots, where we would start filming, say our lines and then cut, to move on to the next scene. My groups mates, and eventually I as well decided that this process would be a little bit hard on us in terms of filming the video because it would require a lot of forethought about how we wanted the final piece to look. So we decided to film the piece like a play, with lots of panning back and forth between the actors as they interacted. This decision did prove to make the filming process very easy but it made the editing process very grueling. Because there was so much panning in our raw footage it was hard, when we cut it together to have smooth cuts. Now that I am finished with it I feel that I did a pretty good job of smoothing the transitions out but at the expense of pace. In order to get rid of the quick camera movements (as a result of panning) all of the clips needed to be cut very tight in terms of the audio, and I feel that many of my transition have a rushed feel because of this. Secondly, I would use a tripod to film next time, the jostling isn't too distracting but if we had a stable camera it would have looked more professional. I showed the film to my mother and she liked it, the only complaint she had was the audio volume, but I had already pumped it up to 200%, so next time i would have the actors be physically closer to the camera/mic. Finally, I would s-p-e-a-k m-o-r-e c-l-e-a-r-l-y.

The video editing process was fun. As I approached it I felt that it was to be daunting but in reality the time flew by. As I put in the finishing touches I felt that I wasted a lot of time, but that was mostly because I was getting used to the software. Overall I think the film is professional looking and I am proud of myself. The software was easy to use and my only complaint was that it seemed to me that ALL of my transitions had to be of the same length. I was able to find a happy medium, but I feel that if I could have adjusted the length of each transition independently the pace of the film could have been improved.

In my future classroom, I do think it would be possible for my students to use create a movie of their I own. You bring up a good point when you ask, "Do you (will you) have the resources, time, and skills necessary to include such a project in your classroom?" So my response is that I might not require all of my students to make a movie, but I would certainly leave the option open to the few students who posses the patience and drive to tackle the endeavor. Resources could definitely be a problem, especially with recent budget cuts, and I wonder what I would do if everyone of my student wanted to create a movie, and not just the select few that I am imagining.

Well, first i learned a lot about cyberbullying during the research phase of this project. It was a topic I had heard a lot of talk about but never really understood what it was. So i am glad I have researched it now and know what a true problem it is. Second, as result of this project i learned that it is pretty easy to create your own professional looking video with the new digital software that wasn't available to me when I was in high school. I am excited for the next time I need to film and edit something because I get to show of the skills I have learned during this process.