I lived my Erasmus experience in Birmingham with much enthusiasm.
At beginning I didn’t know what I was going to meet but certainly I was happy to be inserted in the Music in Motion group, which was my first choice between the two proposals for Collaborative Practice module.
I'm not worried at all work in groups because many exams and projects done in Rome I've made along with other people, but then I was a little 'disappointed by the choice of the group because I found myself working with two guys of my own course graphic communication.
But in the end the choice was "winning" because all three live in the same house and we had no problems to coordinate or to meet us.
Once formed the group, the real work began with the choice of the idea to be realised; everyone has shown out its ideas, I personally proposed the theme of mutation of how a person or object "change" over time, all enriched by transitions and graphic effects that make it more dynamic. Mixing the ideas of each we got to the final idea that concerns the anxieties and fears that plague the majority of young people. My final contribution to the idea was to create transitions and graphic effects between a frame and another.The song of the video was chosen unanimously even though each member had proposed six or seven songs. The rhythm and the text of the Goner by Twenty One Pilots were immediately perfect for the idea that we had chosen.
Before the Christmas holidays we made the first shooting but the things have not gone as we wanted:
⁃ The equipment that we’re going to rent we have not been able to take because we didn’t have the right training and the first available were after Christmas.
⁃ The only room available has forced us to fill the frame because it was too small.
⁃ The shots made with a Canon 550D, all they came out of focus because the camera doesn’t put into focus automatically.
With only two small lights on the faces for all the length of the video there is a shadow which ruins everything.
During the Christmas holidays I went back a few days in Rome to see my family then, once back in England, I took the opportunity to visit more thoroughly, so me and the rest of the group we had little time to work and in fact we started to do it two days before started again the lessons.
As soon as it's time to edit the video I started to have problems because I had never used the digital and video editing programs like After Effects and Premiere Pro. Fortunately Matteo knew how to use them and then I tried to understand the functioning, putting myself at his side and doing it with him.
The first day of class after the holidays we did see the first draft of the video to Phil who was satisfied, although he said it was hard to imagine the final video without effect.
While waiting to remake the shoot was continued the research phase with the study of the graphics effects to be realised on the video and searching of the texts to be included.
While Matteo with his skills continued to mount images and synchronise them with the sound, I, along with Eleonora, was experimenting on photoshop signs and graphics can be inserted in the video and I can say, after working side by side with her, that is really a professional, highly creative and I was in tune with her.
Then I worked with the texts looking and researching, I watched many videos, largely on artofthetitle.com site, I tried different fonts, sizes and positions, repetition and colour, to arrive to the final choice shared with the other members of the group.
Eventually we managed to redo the shoot, this time things went much better, the room and the camera were always the same, but we didn’t have the same initial problems, so we finished shooting.
Assembled all, filming and music, effects and text, we arrived to the day of presentation, which together with Eleonora we have prepared in great detail, but at the time to discuss it was ignored and was only viewed the video. I am satisfied with the result and I think that with the right changes recommended by Phil and Martin the result will be even more perfect.
Whatever the final vote, I am satisfied for the final outcome and how it went on group work, lessons and tutors were well structured, the notions that have been provided was perfect for the making of the video. Probably in the next years the only thing I would change is to add workshops and tutorials on the use of video editing programs because at least I didn’t know them.
I thank my fellow Eleonora and Matteo and especially Phil and Martin for the opportunity granted.
areudirty
snowghoul
theartofmadeline
dededos
