Practical Skills
Recording Equipment:
Due to college closures, I will now be producing the final outcome for my FMP within the confines of my own home, meaning the equipment available to me has become more limited and lower quality than what the college could have loaned out to me during this time. Luckily, I still have a reasonable selection of equipment to allow me to record and edit my documentary, 'Ambition,' in largely the same style as originally intended. For example, I have access to a Sony Handycam HDR-CX330, which can record 1080p video, and I also have the Blue Snowball ICE microphone which will allow me to record vocals for the narration over certain scenes in the documentary, as well as potentially recording an interview. Unfortunately, I do not have access to any professional lighting equipment, so I will have to make do with natural lighting and implementing lamps into the set where necessary to boost the quality of the visuals.
Editing Software:
When it comes to the editing software available to me at home, I will be mainly using Sony Vegas 13 Pro for now, although we may be given access to the Adobe package at a later date, in which case I will make some chnages and additions using Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects. However, for now Sony Vegas along with the occassional use of Audacity to edit and enhance the sound used in the documentary, will allow me to produce a documentary to the highest standard possible with what I have available to me.
Workout Montage VT Version 1:
As one of my practical research methods, I carried out a rough shoot for a stay-at-home weight training montage which is one of the scenes in my documentary; I produced my first rendered version which could be used as a VT within the documentary as a whole. After spending time reflecting and analysing this particular version, I have found a number of ways that I can improve certain shots, transitions and video effects, and will produce a second version in the future, in order for me to do so.
Here is a screenshot of the final edit of Version 1, before rendering:
I used a variety of Video FX during editing to change the colouring, to implement creative transitions and to keep the montage entertaining for the young and active target audience of 16-18-year olds. For example, I used the Soft Contrast Video Event FX settings to enable me to tint the video with a cold blue, accompanied with a vignette to give the montage a dramatic and intense atmosphere, in order to creatively convey the theme and title of 'Ambition'. I created a new pre-set to allow me to apply these same settings to the track as a whole.
I experimented with the theme of surfaces by using the textures of the location and the equipment within it to enhance the visuals and to make it engaging. Furthermore, I continued to showcase the second theme and title of the documentary 'Ambition', through the use of the inspiring, rap soundtrack, Medusa - KSI, alongside close-ups of my face to show the emotions of determination to improve my fitness and physique, as I want to inspire my target audience of 16-18-year olds to do the same. The music used in this VT will target the audience as KSI, the artist is a world-famous influencer from the UK, watched by millions of young people, and I believed the style of the song accompanied with the montage's visuals allows me to deliver a really clear and powerful message through the montage; with hard-work and discipline you can improve.
Inspired by the existing media product of the music video for 'Destined for Greatness - by Tobi and Manny', which I spent time researching and analysing, I have used overlays in my first version. This was made possible by reducing the opacity of the overlay allowing the clip of the posters of famous weight lifters and athletes to flow over the main visual of my bench press, thus highlighting the theme of 'Ambition' as I aspire to reach the physical level of those depicted in the posters.
I was really pleased with how this turned out and how it highlighted my choice of theme, so I decided to make it into the thumbnail/cover photo for when my final documentary is produced and uploaded to YouTube: This could help encourage people to click on the video when it is released, in order to increase viewing numbers, reach a wider audience and maximise the exposure the documentary receives:
Another Video Event FX setting I experimented with in Sony Vegas Pro 13, was the 'Glow.' Within the soundtrack I am using for this segment of my documentary, the chorus features the lyric, 'give me that fame and gold,' to accompany this, I chose a gold colouring for the glow effect, and reduced the intensity of the glow so that it fitted with the style of the montage as a whole. I was really pleased with this effect as it highlights me in the shot through the white outline around me that the glow creates, causing the viewer's eyes to naturally watch the focal point of the scene, which will help engage them in my documentary.
I experimented with different transitions such as the addictive dissolve and in this case, the hard flash. I used the default white tint as I believe this complimented the cold blues from the soft contrast filters, in a visually pleasing way.
Moreover, during filming, I lowered the tripod and tilted the head mount upwards to create a medium-shot at an upward angle. Not only does this make for a visually engaging shot, but looking up at the person in the focal point as a viewer, makes the person seem strong and powerful, which is what I wanted to convey through the montage. I believe weight lifting can you make you feel empowered and I want to inspire my young audience to try it out for themselves so they can feel the same way.
​
Also, in the shot on the left below, I used the Black & White filter at 100%, together with the soft contrast filters, to create the cool and dramatic colour grading, as this was towards the end of the montage and I wanted to create an intense finish, to maintain the audience's attention as I move on to the next section of the documentary.
Additionally, I tried to incorporate some photographic conventions during filming. I used the structure of the weights bench to frame myself in the shot, by shooting through the equipment, which made this particular shot really engaging. The metal surfaces and textures of the bench close-up to the camera helped to achieve this and further demonstrate the given theme of 'surfaces' in my work.
