Week 8: Daily Ritual

Craft: The video was made using a Canon DSLR camera. I staged the video in the Visual Arts Center while I filmed the subject playing a video game on his laptop as he does every day. Using soft light created by adding an umbrella to the lamp, I took into consideration not only the light and shadows on his face but also how I could angle the lamp to on his hands and the computer screen so that the content displayed would be clearly visible as well. That was by far the most difficult task. The music was composed using Garage Band. Since I had previously made a piece with a video game feel to it, I thought it would be suitable enough for the exercise.
Concept: The concept of this project was to record a daily ritual using multiple shots. Meaning, the camera had to be moved at various different angles with each shot. I found that the angles I shot below the subject to be the most interesting because of the expressions of the subject's face that I was able to capture along with the action on the laptop screen. After collecting these shots, we were to edit them down into interesting compositions then compose them in one 30 second or 60-second video using Adobe Premiere. This part of the exercise challenged me to evaluate what was interesting about the shots and how to compose the shots in a way that made logical sense. We also experimented with the use of audio fades and video fades to establish a beginning and ending in Adobe Premiere.
Composition: While composing the shots with the DSLR, I knew that I wanted to create a balance between both the figure and the actions he was engaged with. A lot of the shots required intense preparation to make sure the figure fit within the composition along with the laptop, the mouse, and his hands to show the movements he made. The composition also played a role in putting the shots together. I wanted there to be an implied beginning and ending, showing the subject opening his laptop to begin his frustrating journey through the game only to reach a game over.