It’s a Process

For this Project, you will shoot “a process” and edit together a short sequence emphasizing your perspective on that process. This is entirely a visual project, you will not submit any sound with your video. This is your last video assignment before the final project.

Take for example the process of making coffee. I love the process of making coffee, and I have a ritual around it. I first open the bag and smell the beans, I then grind the beans, get my French press out and heat the water. Finally, I add the water, wait impatiently while it steeps, and then press and savor. This story could be told in one boring flat shot, but it would be exactly that: boring!

We want you to think about how to take all of the storytelling camera tools and techniques we’ve worked on and inject your personal feelings into a process of your own choosing. I might have a bunch of slow shots to insinuate tenderness, or some low angle shots to imply importance. Maybe even a few extreme close-up shots to show a lot of detail and make the viewer feel connected. I could even set my camera to have a slightly warm color cast in order to make the whole piece feel inviting. How I move (or don’t move) the camera, how I compose my shots, and the sequence of my shots all matter.

This piece becomes a statement about my feelings on making coffee.

Because there is no sound in this piece, it adds extra emphasis on the visuals for the viewer. You should choose a process that is easily repeatable, so that you can capture it just right and repeat as needed to change your shots. In the last assignment, you might have struggled with exposure or focus. Try to get the details right for this one.

The process you choose is up to you, but it should be something that you have feelings about or that evokes a specific emotional reaction. You don’t need to feel a positive emotion about your subject either, just think about how to convey your feelings (whatever they are) visually to the viewer.

Requirements

  • Choose a process that you feel strongly about one way or another. It should be simple enough to show the whole process in a handful of shots
  • Give some thought as to how you will shoot the process, how to visually convey your feelings on the matter
  • We suggest making a shot list and/or storyboard for your assignment. It helps immensely to use these tools to pre-visualize what you want to do. Consider how one shot feels in the overall progression of what comes before/after it. You will not submit these documents
  • Shoot a minimum of 5 shots of your process
  • Edit your shots together into a sequence, remove the audio track. Don’t add any sounds
  • Add credits to your video (the form these take is up to you)
  • Your exported video should be between 30 seconds and 1 minute 30 seconds
  • Export your video and upload
  • Submit the assignment before the deadline

Leaving Feedback

After submitting this assignment, you will receive 2 peers’ work to review. You should leave feedback for them in their OpinionCity pages.

As always, please email us with any questions!

Please post your OpinionCity link as the submission to this form