nextstop-pluto

[nextstop-pluto]

netflix edit templates

with writeblr having a hot moment with these really cool netflix edits (og insp) i ended up making my own templates bc i wanted to go overboard and make my own separate thumbnail and banner slides and i thought i would throw them out into the void for anyone else to use if they want to!

there are four different psds: a title card page, an episode page, a “trending now” thumbnail page and a netflix originals banner page. all have blank spaces with visible crop dimensions to make it easy to just crop your own images and slot them in

fonts used: arial & helvetica neue

download: mediafire

[nextstop-pluto]

Non-fiction film

//Non-fiction film//

//McCullin//

***

McCullin is a biographical non-fiction film that I recently watched during a noon-fiction film lecture. The aim of the screening ws to give everyone and insight into one way a non-fiction film can be created.

***

The film tells the story of now retired war photographer, Don McCullin. The film is constructed using a mix of archive footage and interviews with McCullin and people familiar with his work. The film follows his early beginnings all the way until his eventual departure from the profession.

I think the major drawing point of McCullin was it’s subject matter and contributor. War photographers at least from my understanding are often overshadowed by the work they document, let me explain.

From a personal standpoint documentaries and even articles about war photographers are not commonplace. We rarely learn about the people behind the pictures we see in the media. However, McCullin changed that, the film is wholly about the life experience of a man who willingly put himself into war for the sake of capturing the harsh reality of war.

McCullin was strikingly interested and especially grim in places, nevertheless I found it very informative both in the subject matter and creating non-fiction media. As I mentioned before McCullin draws upon a something that most people overlook; those behind the camera. It gave a voice to creator and from that a story was born.

McCullin had a unique selling point of sorts which is something I hope to apply in my own work, fiction or non-fiction. Audiences are always searching for something different, new or innovative, and by having a unique selling point bigger audiences become a possibility.

[nextstop-pluto]

//AU editing #2//

// Visual storytelling: an attempt //

//Click the title to watch//

AU:  AU stands for “Alternate Universe.” It’s a term widely used in the fanfiction writing community to delineate that the world in which the original people/characters have been fictionally placed into is different from reality.

***

The first ever video AU I created was called Moonchildren, this is the second AU I created. This one is titled Discoloured, the name relates to how the main character in this AU’s soul starts to “darken” after he made a bad decision. 

***

Discoloured is also the second AU I’ve created with focus on the kpop group BTS

***

The overall plot of Discoloured follows one specific member of BTS named V or Taehyung in real life. Taehyung makes a deal with a demon in order to get rid of his abusive father. However, as a result his soul becomes “discoloured.” The plot of this AU is defintely heavier than my first story and upon reflection it also wasn’t portayed as well as it could have.

My personal aim for this AU was to have have to the story almost entirely visual with little to next text to further the narrative. This aim wasn’t fully met however, it seems I spent perhaps too much time alluding to events in the edit rather than planning out how my audience would follow the plot.

This is something I have noted since I started writing and creating stories years ago. Often us as writers forget to sometimes lay it out for lack of a better term to our readers, watchers ect. We as the creators know everything and may expect that our audience will be able to follow everything as well. However, an audience member doesn’t have the insight into the mind of the original creator ass the consume the media. As a result narratives, characterisation and reasoning can potentially be lost to consumer, lessening their enjoyment.

Which is something I began to notice I had done with this AU, the biggest plot point which was Taehyung making a deal with a demon, happens very quickly and is easy to miss. The edit is also short meaning there isn’t much time work out each individual plot thread as it finishes quickly.

The AU is around 1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds, I believe and when I had shown it to a few friends they identified that as viewers they couldn’t quite pick up the story, it’s meaning or the significance. 

I don’t really consider the AU as a failure but at the moment it’s certainly my weakest work. Despite this, I will be using it as a learning curve when creating my next AU. I will also put more careful thought into the plot and its themes.

The plot point of Taehyung living in an abusive household is something taken directly an actual BTS music video that portrayed this, however, while that MV I believe took a lot more care in its portrayal I certainly did not.

Consequently, I think this could lead to viewers finding my AU to be distasteful, heavy handed and insensitive. I had always aimed to create content that doesn’t offend but this AU may have opposite reactions. 

It’s definitely something I will be strongly reflecting on when creating my next video

[nextstop-pluto]

//Anime//

//The Rising of the Shield Hero//

//Also known as; 盾の勇者の成り上がり (Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari)

//Click the title to watch the trailer//

[FIRST 6 EPISODES OUT OF 24]

***

-synopsis taken from the anime archive website myanimelist

Stories of old tell of four otherworldly heroes—wielding the sword, spear, bow, and shield—who defended the land from wave after wave of calamity. With the fate of the world in balance, the kingdom of Melromarc summons these legendary figures; in modern-day Japan, the call is answered, and the unwitting heroes are transported to this fantasy universe.

Thrust into Melromarc and given the title of "Shield Hero," otaku Naofumi Iwatani is labeled the weakest due to his lack of offensive capability and apparent inexperience. When the heroes part ways to start their journeys, he only has one willing companion: the beautiful princess Malty Melromarc. However, she soon betrays him, steals all his money, and accuses him of taking advantage of her. For his alleged crimes, Naofumi is branded a criminal and made outcast of society. With hatred filling his heart, he sets out alone, vowing vengeance against those who wronged him. 

Source: https://myanimelist.net/anime/35790/Tate_no_Yuusha_no_Nariagari

***

Otaku meaning: Otaku in popular Japanese culture normally refers to an individual who is heavily invested in the subculture of anime, manga, light novels and video games. In relation to international fans of anime, manga ect the term otaku is largely the same however some cases based on the behaviours exhibited by some international fans this meaning changes. Overseas otakus have also been referred to as weebs/weeaboos, a negative definition for a fan who’s investment has become obsessive, ignorant and disrespectful. Otakus and weeaboos and not the same however due to negative attitudes towards the wider anime, manga ect community many are viewed through the derogatory lense of “weeb/weeaboo”

-Naofumi the protagonist of The Rising of The Shield Hero is a Japanese college student who is also an otaku

***

Plot:

 As the synopsis stated, The Rising of The Shield Hero follows college otaku Naofumi after he is transported to another world as one of the four heroes of legend. In six episodes alone this anime has already subverted many tropes found in similar shows whilst not becoming stale or uninteresting in it’s presentation.

I’m currently only six episodes in but I’m heavily invested. This type of plot, surrounding characters travelling to another world became popularised recently in anime and light novels. It’s been popularised so much that it’s essentially -despite being a trope- has now been largely accepted as sub-genre of anime. This sub-genre is referred to as “Isekai” 

Isekai meaning: In literal Japanese Isekai means,  different world or another world. When used on light novels and anime it becomes a term used to describe that the concept revolves around characters travelling to a different world.

So in our main character Naofumi’s case. he is an “iskeai” protagonist because he left one world and entered another. 

Back to the plot, the first six episodes have Naofumi dealing with responsibility of being a hero for a world that appears out to get him. At every turn he is deceived, disrespected and defamed. In the first episode alone (spoilers ahead) he is falsely accused of sexual assault and almost executed. After to which this false accusation ruins his reputation among the other characters. He receives no help and has to go it alone despite burdened with the task of being one of the four heroes of legend.

What I love about the plot is how subversive it is from many others in its category. Isekai shows have in the current anime sphere a negative reputation. Many feature overpowered protagonists who barely worked for the power they wield. These protagonists have been known to come across exceedingly “edgy” bland in personalities and as I mentioned incredibility overpowered from a early stage.

There remains a lot of discourse in the community about these types of story and their characterisation. Some many of the community simply cite and engage with these shows as way of wish-fulfillment whilst others enjoy complex high fantasy magic systems. The divide is often in the characters

***

Character/s:

I’ve spoken a little about Naofumi but for some deeper detail. Naofumi was summoned as the fourth hero, the shield hero. Since his hero type is defensive as opposed to offensive he’s viewed as week by wider society. From his very arrival Naofumi deals with being sidelined and looked down upon, when he’s accused of sexual assault in episode one; nobody vouches for him. Naofumi becomes the embodiment of the “underdog” we want to see him grow and prove everyone wrong. 

Naofumi as an isekai protagonist is quite different. I mentioned earlier that isekai protagonist tend to early on become very overpowered. Before even half way through the show a typical isekai protagonist will have mastered every skill imaginable and essentially be unbeatable, and while this isn’t necessarily a bad thing it’s all about it execution in my opinion. Watching a character grow organically over time allows for a bigger emotional pay off once they reach the point of next to unbeatable.

Naofumi’s situation forces him to have to grow by his own hand. The lack of allies, knowledge and mental/emotional support makes it a struggle for him to grow. But it’s his struggle that connects me as a viewer to his character. He becomes admirable to watch perceive than stale to watch defeat a whole army in the span one episode single handed. 

Shield Hero’s secondary protagonist is a demi-human named Raphtalia. (see above) Raphtalia had been the property of a slave merchant before she came to know Naofumi. Naofumi in a last resort for a companion to fight with brought Raphtalia.

What I liked about the characterisation of Raphtalia was how she was distinctly a child that behaved like a child. What I mean is in other anime not just isekai shows child characters have a tendency to behave very “un-childlike,” in the sense that their way of speech, thought and action is exhibited as if they are meant to be older. Regarding young female characters in anime, some of them have also been portrayed in a sexualised manner despite their extremely young age. This can involved getting into uncomfortable sexually charged situations with the much older protagonist or involving themselves in the romantic pursuit of the main character. 

There’s a lot of discourse about this is community but personally regadring myself, it makes me incredibly uncomfortable considering they’re minors. 

Moving on, although it’s quite apparent that later in the series Naofumi and Raphtalia are likely to become romantically involved when she’s older. During her introduction and the episodes that follow her personal development and platonic relationship with Naofumi she behaves as young person would. She enjoys playing children’s games, likes having friends and appreciates the parental type role Naofumi has become in her life.

As the episodes progress and she gets older (significantly fast I might add) she learns to defend herself and assert her own standing in the world. In short she develops. She doesn’t pander to every whim of Naofumi, she stands up for him when he’s falsely accused of her and she becomes an anchor that emotionally supports Naofumi.

It should also be heavily noted that the slave-owner dynamic between Naofumi and Raphtalia is non-existent, she does work for him but he treats her as a person, not a slave. In one of episodes, I can’t recall, the magical contractual bond between them is removed however, this doesn’t change Raphtalia’s loyalty to Naofumi. In short she is only a slave in name whilst a friend in reality.

***

Themes:

The main themes of this anime appear to be growth and perseverance. Every episode is about the characters growing as people personally but also in the world around them. They find ways to deal with the things that limit them as individuals and strengthen what they’ve already acquired.

As I said, I enjoy a good “underdog” hero story. So to see characters constantly growing and changing with the aim of becoming unmatched against their enemies is heavily engaging and enjoyable. 

***

Overall: 

Only six episodes and all I can do is sing this anime’s praises. I’ve always been a fan of fantasy action shows when executed well and The Rising of The Shield Hero is currently ticking all the boxes. I’ll definitely be continuing this show

[nextstop-pluto]

//Cinema Studies//

//Research for essay assignment//

***

For my cinema studies module I needed to choose an individual or a group of individuals and analyse and debate their creative or technological contributions to the industry. After which an essay would be written up containing the analysis and debate.

For my essay I chose director Ryan Coogler, he’s most famous for directing Black Panther in 2018. I decided to base my essay around his creative contributions to the industry regarding his representation of black people.

In order to form an accurate, well informed essay I have begun the process of watching films directed by Ryan Coogler. The first being Fruitvale Station.

***

-Fruitvale Station (2013)

Directed by Ryan Coogler

***

-synopsis taken from IMDB

Synopsis: The story of Oscar Grant III, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident, who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family, and strangers on the last day of 2008.

Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2334649/

***

Plot:

The plot as the synopsis stated followers the last days and hours of Oscar Grant which ended in his killing by the hand of a police officer. The film is autobiographical and was brought about due to protests after Oscar’s killing. The film touches on racial tension, crime and the struggles Oscar faced in an effort to turn his life around.

***

Character/s:

Oscar Grant played by Michael B Jordan is the main character, his real life counterpart was killed on New Years Day 2009. Oscar was a struggling young man trying to turn his life around after a stint in prison and losing his job. 

Oscar as a character I should I say, a person; appeared a man who had previously to the film’s event been involved with unsavory people. These activities with these people we can speculate are one of the reasons for his earlier imprisonment. But at his core Oscar appeared a man with potential and a desire to change if he was given a chance.

It makes the events that transpire especially heart-breaking because he had a lot to give.

***

Filmmaking:

From a filmmaking standpoint what I noticed what the frequent almost full use of handheld camera operation. Often the camera follows Oscar through numerous over the shoulder shots.

The use of handheld in my opinion for the film to feel intimate and immersed as if the audience was living through Oscar’s last hours along with him. There’s a sequence in the second to last last quarter of the film in which Oscar’s family are preparing for New Years. The camera appears mostly handheld and frequently pans among the character, this movement feels dynamic, engergized and almost too chaotic. However, that’s exactly the tone of the scene, a family alive and buzzing on the eve of a new year.

The primary use of handheld I believe added to the natural tonal feel the film. Fruitvale Station comes across as personal, simple for lack of a better word through the use of handheld camera operation.

***

[nextstop-pluto]

//AU editing//

//Inspiration//

***

AU:  AU stands for “Alternate Universe.” It’s a term widely used in the fanfiction writing community to delineate that the world in which the original people/characters have been fictionally placed into is different from reality.

***

A while back whilst I was watching video AUs for personal inspiration I came across a Youtube channel that had started video AU series revolving around members of BTS. The first one was entitled, Alone Together and the second, #Sunflowerkisses (see below) and recently, the prequel was released, Cyberbully

//Click title to watch//

What struck me about this edit was just how complex it was from an editing stand point. I’ve mentioned before but I’m still very new to editing, with every video I create I hope to improve my skills.

This video AU series has a lot to it. It’s narrative is social media based in the sense that all the conversation between characters take place over social media. The main point of view the viewer witnesses is the focal character’s computer screen. It’s a unique style compared to what I create and the AUs I’ve seen others create online.

So one, the visual style is unique, and two so is the mode of storytelling. The AUs follows whichever focal character as they converse online, receive messages and phone calls that type of thing. It’s almost as if the viewer is within the story themselves; it’s very immersive.

I’ve spoken about immersion in the past and watching to create that feeling for viewers my own work. From watching these AUs I can tell I still have a significant ways to go. These AUs are heavily detailed and structured in the development and edit.

***

The story of this series is firstly, is not told in chronological order.

Alone Together: Followed the fallout after the suicide of a friend within a close circle of friends

#Sunflowerkisses: Followed the fallout of now two suicdes within a friendship group

Cyberbully: Goes back to before Alone together and explains the first suicide which forever changed the group of friends

These meant that extra close attention was needed to pick up on all the little clues that make up the narrative.

The creator recently did a live stream during the making of Cyberbully recently and showed briely the extensive amount f notes that have been written for the series. Planning is something I often don’t take in account as much as I should wehn creating my content. My development notes are often shorthand, limited in detail or sometimes just simply a one sentence concept. More and more I’ve found this hinders me a lot when going into the edit.

I go into the edit with a bare bones understanding of what will be created and more often than not, it causes me stress.

I remember even being told in lectures that even on major scale productions, there is always a fully development plan of how scenes will be shot and edited. And while, my AUs do not feature any work I have actually shot, similar rules can be applied. If I plan out my narratives in full, it makes it easier to during the editing stage.

[nextstop-pluto]

//AU editing #3//

//Changing my style//

//Click the title to watch//

***

AU:  AU stands for “Alternate Universe.” It’s a term widely used in the fanfiction writing community to delineate that the world in which the original people/characters have been fictionally placed into is different from reality.

***

This is my first AU that does not revolve around the group BTS, instead the main focus was various female groups.

***

For this AU I really wanted try something new in terms of both storytelling style, narrative a character focus. My past AU had all centered around the group BTS whereas with this one I focused on multiple female groups.

The overall plot of this AU named, The Blairwood Witches, centers around the alleged killings during the early 80s said to have been committed by witches. 

***

The visual style I went for resembles old style archive footage. In the beginning the AU starts with the classic film countdown before the story starts. 

The aim was to create a found archive footage type of edit. I also added an VHS overlay to the following scenes to really create that grainy “old style” effect and tone. 

This AU went through a few changes before its upload. Initially, the AU was meant to be an orientation type of video for young witches intending to “attend” The Blairwood academy. However, the music I had chosen was slow with an ominous edge which didn’t seem appropriate.

The story changed and eventually became about a boarding school of witches in a remote town who were accused of killing a few locals. I had a difficult time debating whether to have the witches being the antagonists, it seemed right at first but as the edit was in the progress my feelings changed.

There’s a lot of fictional stories depicting witches as the antagonists, so I decided I wanted to be somewhat different.  

[nextstop-pluto]

Scene recreation

//Craft skills//

Our last assignment for semester 2 is to completely recreate a scene from a film. We’re in slightly larger crews for this project compared to the past.

My crew chose a scene from Good Will Hunting, which I have yet to watch completely. The scene is between Robin William’s character and Matt Damon’s. It takes place on a park bench during a particularly sunny day. However, what the two converse about is anything but positive.

We scouted the local park to see if it had a suitable visuals for the recreation. We found it did and proceeded to plan for the shoot. 

Due to how the original scene was likely shot, our crew was advised to attempt using an a slider as opposed to a standard tripod. This equipment was unfamiliar to us so we went about having day where we tested how exactly we’d need to use it.

The testing proved difficult but possible with lot of attention put onto how fast the camera would need to be moved as the scene progressed. 

***

On the day of shooting we found that weather posed the biggest issue, see, the original scene was bright sunshine filled day whilst what we had was storm weather. Despite this, the shoot proceeded as best as we could make it.

[nextstop-pluto]

//AU editing #1//

//Click the title to watch//

AU: AU stands for “Alternate Universe.” It’s a term widely used in the fanfiction writing community to delineate that the world in which the original people/characters have been fictionally placed into is different from reality. 

***

Recently, in an effort to begin developing my filmmaking and storytelling skills I tried my hand at creating a video AU. AUs in general are quite popular across a wide range of fan commuities or “fandoms” and the one I’m currently an active particpant you could say is the BTS fandom.

BTS being a South Korean boy group. I had always been somewhat interested in AUs despite the social backlash they receive. AUs or fanfiction in general especially based on real life individuals is often met with disdain from both within and outside the community. It’s based a lot of around the eithical issues surrounding portraying real people in particular situations and what is deemed as appropriate.

It’s especially an issue due to some AU creator placing either real person counterparts in particularly violent or sexual situations which is the main area of contention. So when making to decision to create my own, it brought about a lot of anxiety despite my strong desire to create something interesting.

My AU is entitled, Moonchildren. The name is derived from a song called Moonchild from a BTS member’s solo work.

The AU is a light fantasy story in which the kpop groups, BTS and Gfriend are young people that fell from the Moon to Earth and now unable to return home. The plot is largely interpretive, however, the themes of friendship, family and homesickness is what I aimed to convey throughout the story.

The AU is just over 2 minutes and it took me around 2 days to edit together. I used shots from each group’s respective music videos, and cut them together to make my story. It’s probably at the time of this writing the biggest editing “assignment” I’ve taken on. As I mentioned earlier I dealt with a lot of personal conflict and anxiety whilst creating this video. 

While the subject matter is melancholy I didn’t make the story emotionally heavy, this is still only my second video I’ve created so I’m still in the process of testing what I’m good at and enjoy. There’s also as I mentioned the ethical implications of the video, whilst groups are not portraying themselves in my story, I’ve still put their “images” as such into a situation.

How I go about portraying these very real individuals in my future AUs will always take a lot of consideration and care. I never aim to offend or disrespect anyone in the slightest, I only aim to bring the stories in my head to life using videos.

Currently I use a software called Lightworks to edit my videos, I use primarily out of convenience because it’s freely available to public. I aim to advance my skills in editing as time goes on with the aim of becoming comfortable using Premiere Pro.

***

At the time of this writing Moonchildren is my highest viewed AU on my Youtube channel it seems a lot of people enjoyed the short video I created for fun, and that makes me happy in all honesty. Of course there may be people who don’t enjoy my work in the future, who consider what I do as unethical but I believe if I keep going, I’ll improve my skill and be able to create and tell a wide range of complex stories.

[nextstop-pluto]

Lighting Assignment

//Craft skills//

Our most recent craft skills assignment has been to replicate a scene from a film with special focus on the replicating the lighting. In preparation for the filming we had a lecture technical instruction style which demonstrated the basics of how to diffuse light within a scene. 

(We also formally had a TI in order to book out and use the kit)

Originally my crew had chosen a kitchen scene from Kill Bill Vol.1 (see below.) It seemed like a scene we could replicate due to the fact we had access to rather large kitchen we could film in and we had people who didn’t mind participating in acting.

We made notes on the lighting within the scene. This scene appeared to have been deliberately over exposed in places, it hadn’t been lit to resemble natural light at all. One of our lecturers had also informed us that it was likely the kitchen scene hadn’t originally been filmed in a legitimate location, and likely it was had been and indoor constructed set piece. With this in mind we would need to put even more thought into how to accurately manipulate the artificial lights in our favour.

The initial filming day had both negative and positive results. While the kitchen location we had wasn’t exactly the same it was a decent size that we could place the lights in relatively the same places light was present in the original scene.

However, trying to replicate just how overblown the light was, was next to impossible. We tried making use of white sheet to help diffuse and brighten the light but it proved to not reflect well off the work surfaces or the floor. The original scene had mostly white work surfaces and walls whilst our location had predominantly red and black walls + work surfaces. In short, the light didn’t diffuse as well as it potentially could have.

After working at it for a day we opted to change the scene. The scenes we had shot, whilst having lights in roughly the same places just didn’t look like the scene we had intended. 

The beginning of the next shoot day began the crew researching new possible scenes to replicate. Eventually a new scene was chosen, a scene from the film Split in which one of James McAvoy’s multiple personalities, Patricia makes a sandwich (see below)

Conveniently, the originally kitchen location we were using for Kill Bill proved suitable for replicating the scene from Split. Only certain elements of the scene we adapted due to our limited resources and locations. For example, there’s a shot within the scene/clip in which “Patricia” and two other characters leave one room, enter a corridor and then enter a kitchen. (see below)

This part was cut from our recreation due to the corridors available to us being too narrow and the restrictions regarding the lights within the corridor. To sum up, due to safety reasons covering the ceiling the light censors was a hazard. 

Attempting to recreate this exact lighting required a lot of thought and multiple takes. Everyone within our crew was still largely unfamiliar with motivated lighting, so it took quite a lot of time and filming took place over two separate days. 

When recreating the above shot, the white sheet was used to diffuse the light in the top right corner of the frame. The placement of the sheet proved important because whilst it served a purpose it was visible in our frame. We need to fold and place it as if it was naturally part of the scene rather than an accessory used for light diffusion. 

After multiple light placement changes we were able to recreate the lighting to a further extent than the Kill Bill scene.

[nextstop-pluto]

Non-fiction film

//Testing for the shoot//

In a previous post I spoke about how the style of my crew’s film has began to change and how we finally decided on style seen in shows such as, Carpool karaoke and Peter Kay’s car share (see below.)

After deciding on our primary filming style, we needed to research to assess just how possible it would be for our crew to practically go about replicating the style. We ended up setting aside a morning of camera testing using a crew member’s car. 

We found that using a GoPro camera we could replicate the similar shot types in seen in the previously mentioned TV shows. However, we had to put a lot of thought into the camera’s placement, while certain areas within the car allowed for good framing we still had to assess whether the camera would be a distraction to a driver.

The nature of our interview style is reliant on the contributor/s conversing together whilst driving around the city of Stoke with brief intervals in which the car would stop at significant locations. However, this upon review brought up potential safety issues. If the camera’s placement remained in the eye-line of the contributor driving this could prove distracting and subsequently dangerous. Baring in the mind, that different areas of the city may have different speed limits as well as other factors including severe traffic. We needed to aim for a camera set up that was not distracting to the eye-line of the driver.

Additionally we had originally planned to make use of multiple GoPro cameras within the car however, due to booking circumstances we only had one available. Despite this when it came to out test shoot one camera appeared to be the best option. It’s small size meant it was less distracting to the eye and less intimidating.

During our lectures leading up the our test shoot we had been briefed on how to approach interviewing contributor on camera. Whilst some people take to being on camera quite comfortably, this isn’t exclusive to everyone, and given the style of our interview it wouldn’t have boded well to fitting multiple cameras within the explicit eye-line of our contributor/s. 

***

After meeting with our supervisor, Fiona, our plan for the actual shoot changed slightly due to safety reasons. Fiona had pointed out that having our main contributor-who would be driving- also participating in an interview whilst the car is on the move, could be dangerous. It was suggested that we pick certain locations to have the car stop at that in turn would become multiple interview locations. This would allow for our contributor to drive safely with limited distractions or obligations to speak.

[nextstop-pluto]

//AU editing #5//

//Click the title to watch//

//Trying something new//

***

AU:  AU stands for “Alternate Universe.” It’s a term widely used in the fanfiction writing community to delineate that the world in which the original people/characters have been fictionally placed into is different from reality.

I’ve been continuing my AU edits and decided to try something new in my mode of storytelling. Whilst my previous edits relied upon a character simply talking to the viewer or a narrative set up, I changed the mode of address. 

The approach and style required me to actively learn a new editing skill. The whole story behind this AU is told through text messages which all receive the same response, “message not received.” However, before creating this AU I had no prior knowledge about how to create this effect.

The software I currently edit on is Lightworks, I use it out of convenience and the fact it’s a somewhat decent software which is freely available for public use. Unfortunately despite its mostly free platform, some more advanced features are locked off unless I upgraded through monetary means. Also the software isn’t particularly known or common which makes learning certain skills on it near impossible. 

***

This is my fourth AU centered around a BTS member, this time the primarly focal members were Jungkook and Suga real name, Yoongi.

***

So eventually I made the main bulk of the edit on Lightworks and the text messages were made on Premiere Pro. I’m not particularly knowledgeable on Premiere Pro as of yet so I had to go about finding a tutorial online to learn about creating the effect.

I came across an uncomplicated tutorial, and while it’s perhaps a lot smaller scale of an effect to learn for someone more knowledgeable than myself. This was another step forward in developing my range of skills. 

I spent around a week creating all the needed text messages for the story along with the repeated response bubbles as well. It was exhausting but I managed to complete it. I’ve shown the finished edit to a few people and it can be accessed from my channel as well, the response has been positive so far.

#au #kpop #film #bts

[nextstop-pluto]

Chase sequence

//Craft skills//

Our newest assignment for the craft skills module has been to film a 3 minute chase sequence. 

The style my group went for, for this assignment was that of a black and white era slapstick comedy, drawing influence from  D. W. Griffith in terms of certain visual aspects. 

Our chase sequence took two shoot days and we were pleased with the result, we aimed to try something different compared to what we were used doing and I believe it came out well. 

The only aspect of old slapstick comedy films we didn’t adhere to was the aspect ratio of the frame remaining in 4:3 as it did in the past. Honestly, it was something we forgot to factor in during the shoot which caused an issue in post. While we could still crop the footage into that aspect ratio we ended up losing visual information from the frame. If we had factored this in during the shoot every shot would have been set up to ensure all the important information remained in a 4:3 frame.

So while in the end we didn’t stick the 4:3 style we learnt for future reference to account for everything before going on a shoot.

//Screening//

After the screening it became clear that when shooting a chase sequence motivation and plot is significantly important. We found that we had spent more time focusing on the chase aspect of the sequence rather the reasoning/motivation behind it with too much focus on hitting the assigned time limit.

A chase sequence needs to have thought behind it and often doesn’t take up much time during an actual scene. A 3 minute sequence with say 2 and half minutes of a chase after a while feels unnecessarily prolonged, there needs to be a why to keep the momentum of the film going. 

When developing the narrative that our chase sequence would be born out of, we spent less time on the reason and more time on the location and how many shots of running we needed. As a result our narrative was rather vague. However, due to our style -black & white slapstick comedy-narrative was not a strong focus as this media is driven by hyperbolic comedic circumstances.

Nevertheless, the screening made me realise and take into account for future reference the importance of plot, reasoning/motivation

[nextstop-pluto]

Thoughts on editing

The edits I make are unconventional in the sense that they are not made with a specific purpose. I don’t edit-at least not right now-for others. I make edits simply because I like bringing the concepts I create in my head to life through applying visuals. The fact I primarily make edits starring a kpop groups also doesn’t exactly make my work feel reputable enough to be shown to anyone outside the fan community. 

Effectively what I make is video fan-fiction and there’s quite a lot of stigma around the quality of work made by fan communities. Although I put a lot of time and effort into my edits, because of social attitudes towards it’s creation I feel as if they can’t be shown to many. Also, that they aren’t appropriate or high level enough to be taken seriously.

How exactly do you tell people that you make fan-fiction out of existing content without a visual reaction akin to awkwardness. Perhaps I’m being too personal both in this post and in how I feel. You can’t change people’s attitudes to a fan culture if they don’t wish to learn. 

[nextstop-pluto]

//AU editing #4//

//Structure and ambition//

//Click the title to watch//

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AU:  AU stands for “Alternate Universe.” It’s a term widely used in the fanfiction writing community to delineate that the world in which the original people/characters have been fictionally placed into is different from reality.

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This is my third AU based on BTS, the focal member this time was Jimin

***

I’ve been trying to develop my visual storytelling skills as I make more AUs I found with my previous edits-and those that are still in progress-that a lot of them are heavily reliant on text to convey the narrative; and while that isn’t a wholly bad thing it doesn’t help develop my visual skills. I first made the attempt at a fully conveying a narrative through visual with my AU, Discoloured however it didn’t come out as clear and coherent for viewers as I’d hoped. With this new AU, blue. I tried mixing the two, text and visuals. I outlined the premise early in the video and allowed the visuals to tell the rest.

I’m quite proud of this AU it took a lot more work than I had originally imagined. Collecting various visuals was the most significant issue I came across, then deciding on a proper structure for the story.

blue. went through a few narrative changes during it’s development, the original plot was surprisingly similar to that of my first AU, Moonchildren. 

#Editing #AU #kpop #bts

[nextstop-pluto]

Non-fiction film

//Style//

Style has been a big factor in the development of my crew’s film, from the offset we decided we wanted to create something stylistically unique. This came about a lot due to our film’s subject matter and contributors. 

Our film centers around the local music scene in the city of Stoke, our contributors are all musicians who have spent a significant amount of their lives making music within the city of Stoke. So essentially we wanted to capture the spirit or more ‘essence’ of Stoke music in our film. 

We had originally aimed to highlight the generational differences between the local music of the past and the contemporary music culture we see today. Our contributors would reflect on these differences through their age, genre and perception of music culture in Stoke. 

With an overlay of the contributor’s music we developed the idea of essentially creating a music film, wherein we learn about our contributors and Stoke music against the backdrop of their music. 

As time has gone on this concept has persisted but shifted over time, our contributors grew in number and visual style changed dramatically. Whereas how we planned to film in one location, have our contributors perform if possible with cutaways to city shots. Along with sound bytes of the contributors talking about their lives and passions. 

The visual style has taken on that of a tour of Stoke, visiting locations significant to our contributors. Our camera set up is akin to the set ups in shows such as Carpool Karaoke. (see image below)

It also proved to be a convenient style of filming due to our main contributor being a taxi driver as well as a musician. 

[nextstop-pluto]

Non-fiction film

//Research through film//

I’ve mentioned in a few posts about the general style and subject of my crew’s film. It’s heavily music centered with a look into the generational differences of the local music scene across the years. 

Essentially what we will be creating is a music based short documentary film, so in order to develop a firmer understanding of creating a non-fiction film based around music I went and watched one. 

I’m personally a big fan of music in general so I applied my personal music interest into the music based film I watched for research. The film I chose to watch is not too long recently documentary film based on the South Korean music group called BTS. The documentary film was titled, ‘Burn the Stage’ and it was released through YouTube Red (see trailer below.) The non-fiction film follows the group over their world tour in the 2017 titled, “The Wings Tour”, and while the music based film my crew will be making is nothing on this scale of production I found that certain aspects used in the film could be potentially implemented in our film.

The film’s mode of presenting the events and members (essentially contributors) is for the most the part what you would expect from a non-fiction film, there are the standard sit down interviews, archive footage and sequences of the members and staffs explaining their work as they do it. However, there are a few “non-standard” modes of conveying/expositing information.

For example there’s a whole sequence of one member showing his work process as he works on writing songs for the group, what’s unique or at least I haven’t seen it before is that the whole sequence appears to have been shot by him. It appears as if he was given a camera and allowed to record his work at his own pace, show what he wants to show, be as honest as he wishes. 

This allowed for a more authentic feeling to the film as a whole, instead of the constant cameras following the “subjects” (members) we, the audience, got a personal insight into the life of artist through his eyes and his consent. 

I found this particularly interesting and worth noting due to how it made the film feel more personal and intimate. This feeling I believe would be worth trying to emulate in my crew’s film. As a audience member myself I connect more to the people to people on screen when I begin to see the world through their perspective, it builds a connection and subsequently allows for engagement and possible emotive reactions from the watcher. 

Media I have found and learnt is about immersion, if we the audience are immersed in what we are seeing or experiencing our memories and feelings are significantly stronger. We remember better and depending on the feeling will sometimes aim t pass that feeling on by, for example, recommending whatever media to other people. As an aspiring creator I want to learn and create content that evokes these types of feelings in my audience. Immersion leads to engagement and engagement leads to remembrance and the possibility of attracting more people.

However, I know I must keep in mind especially when creating non-fiction content is the balance between creating true content and how I go about getting the content I need from a contributor. In the ‘Burn the Stage’ film as I mentioned of one members appears to have been allowed to film a segment himself. This meant that he was in control of what he filmed including how reliable it was. While we can assume what he allowed to be shown was the truth equally as much parts could have been omitted.

In a recent lecture for non-fiction film one of our lecturers mentioned an ITV documentary on a famous couple who were responsible for a slew of murders a number of years ago. The documentary had advertised itself as presenting unseen evidence that would shock the audience, however, shortly before the release date it had been revealed that the documentary’s main contributor had lied. There was no new evidence and as a result, none of the information given was valid or reliable. This was the main problem with relying on evidence given wholly by a contributor with limited personal investigation until, it was too late.

In short, as I mentioned earlier I’ve identified that a balance between allowing the contributor to be as open as they please and directing/drawing out the reliable content needs to always be kept in mind. 

***

 As a fan of group the documentary allowed me to both enjoy the content presented to me but also identify the ways in which it kept me as a watcher engaged. One of the drawing points of the group BTS according us fans is their ability for the members to make their selves feel connected to us. They do it through it their subject matter in music and the regular interaction they have with us. 

Additionally, through the release of content such as this, which presented fans with a look into their lives that we had never seen before. Fans felt a deeper immersion and connection to the members. We cared even more than we did before and as a result this feeling passed itself onto others including non fans through the internet. It was a good mix of media marketing and building a stronger connection between artist and fan.

It was a good experience as fan and as biased as it sounds, although I debated for the purpose of covering all bases in my own film making. I don’t believe that member would have omitted anything particularly weighty content wise during that sequence during the film. The major factor behind this reasoning rests on the fact he was intoxicated during this sequence which remains especially comedic amongst fans and two it’s not something I believe any of them to really do. But I am one to admit I’m biased and this has digressed further than it needed to.

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My research into non-fiction music based film through watching this film I believe has proven to some extent beneficial in the development of my own filmmaking.