Introduction
As a writer and a storyteller, the conceptual unit was not the easiest. The conceptual unit is focused around non-linear storytelling, poetry, music, art, animations, experimental film and web production. Fortunately, this unit was not particularly difficult, as all of the projects served as a tutorial for the equipment and how projects work at Freestyle. We learned how to use our DSLR cameras, audio recorders, Adobe applications, and several other useful resources. It was a big leap from using an old iPhone and a free editing software, but luckily I was able to get the hang of it pretty quickly.
SF MOMA Field Trip
When we took a class field trip to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, we were tasked with finding a piece of art we identified with and writing about its meaning. We then took our statements and edited them into a video. This was my first real project using Adobe Premier Pro.
Parody
As an introduction to Adobe Audition, we were tasked with creating a parody of a song we enjoyed. A friend generously gave me the inspiration for a parody of ‘The Other Side’ sung by Darth Vader.
Lyrics
Join me, my son
Cause I’ve already won
Don’t make me carbonate you
I can see it
You rule with me
Or I will cut your hand
Out of the battleground and rebels you hang with
So trade that typical for something powerful
And if it’s evil, live a little evil
You can stay with Yoda, sure, a king of that muddy swamp
Or you can join me and you’ll see
Don’t you wanna get away from the same old destiny to sway
‘Cause I got what you need, so come with me and take my hand
I’ll bring you to the darker side
‘Cause you can fight like you do
Or you can rule like me
Stay down on Hoth, or you can finally set them free
Oh, damn, suddenly you’re finally mine
I’ll bring you to the darker side
Film
In film, the conceptual unit served as an introduction to film language. We were taught how to use our camera, and how to edit. Before that, however, our film teacher, Mr. Taylor, thought it would be funny to throw us into the thick of it without telling us anything. And thus, we were tasked to go on a
Scavenger Hunt
This project was a lot of fun. Mr. T showed us how to turn on the camera, press record, and that was it. He gave us one period to run around the school and find a list of items and shots. All things considered, I think we did pretty well.
DoubleMint
This was a lot of fun, although a bit tricky. To teach us how to crop videos together, we had to place two of ourselves in the same shot. I decided to be a bit ambitious and have one of me grab an item that was just put down by the other me. I filmed the left me first, placing down the water bottle. Then, careful not to move anything, I filmed the right me. Unfortunately, I failed to account for a change in shadows as I swapped over the two clips. Luckily, with a bit of blurring and feathering, I managed to make the transition seamless.
Green Screen
I was a little overambitious on this project. The assignment was a short, 15 second clip of our choosing to demonstrate our ability to key. That quickly turned into a 2 and a half minute western film that I could not be more proud of. I filmed all of the footage in the video game Red Dead Redemption 2 using a camera mod. From there, I edited it into a rough cut to understand the pacing, then filmed everything on the green screen. After adding myself into each shot, I topped it off with music and some sound effects.
