Take A Moment

     For this project, I intended to create a short film about taking a moment out of your busy schedule to just breathe and collect yourself because more could get done.  In the end it developed into (this!) the idea of taking a minute for yourself to relax, whether before, during, or after a busy day because it will just help.  This change happened because of editing and because it seemed to become overall stronger.  I was the subject of my film which caused some difficulties in filming.  The main drawback was no one was there for most of the shots to tell me to stop and re-shoot because I wasn't in frame or I had done something that just looked strange on camera.  Another minor drawback that I quickly worked my way around was leaving the camera while I drove off in a car.  I offered to take a friend shopping if she would let me set up the camera, hit the button, and make sure no one stole it while I drove away.  This was helpful because the camera guard was also able to follow the shot for a bit.  The only problem was they didn't know exactly what my vision was, so several re-shoots were required.  Another problem was camera placement.  I realized that a lot of different things go into shooting for a film.  You need to make sure the shot is set up properly and this is really hard if you are your own subject.  I managed most of my shots with the use of a tripod, which in one case was basically essential for getting the shot.
     Editing this video proved far better than the last (the computer cooperated for one thing).  I had all of my shots planned, so the only thing I had to do was sort through them for the part that I wanted, most of them I only had to cut out me turning on and off the camera.  The transitions in between the title and the end scene worked a lot better than normal cuts would have.  They caused it to flow much better than if they had just been cut in.  The editing of what I consider the memory sequence caused the film to have a different feel than when it was in color.  The color just made it look too busy, and although it was what I was going for, the "dreamy" effects made it more seem like a cup of tea was great after a long day.  I did wind up debating between diegetic and non-diegetic sound.  I finally decided upon non-diegetic sound  because it seemed to get the point across better and music didn't really seem to fit.
    The trickiest part of this project, was creating a film with meaning in 6 days.  It wasn't the easiest thing in the world and overall, I feel I could have done much better if I had even 12 days.  There is no easy way to film a lot of material and then have to go through it and cut it down in 6 days.  I tend to feel different every time I watch something, which caused me to change the plans I had for specific clips daily for 3 days.  I am happy with the final result because my idea really evolved from shooting to editing to finalizing.  I am looking forward to the future when I might have more time to make a video and can really have the ability to concentrate on it without the thought of finals looming overhead.