The idea for the Final Major Project is a short video essay about the “State” of the video site, YouTube. This was to discuss the current landscape that YouTube is at this current time, what the recent trends have been (YouTube Boxing, Reaction Channels, Talk Show Hosts, etc) and also talking about the controversy of YouTube and it’s ‘Stars’ (Logan/Jake Paul, KSI, RiceGum, etc.) This film would be 10-15 minutes long as there would be a lot to discuss for the audience to truly understand the message behind this and to understand why this is a very big trend in the current world news.
I feel this was a very ambitious project as I felt it was something I was very passionate about, something I could really get into as a topic, talking about how I felt and what the effects were of these events. The only change was the format of this film, at first this was going to be a documentary but then after researching videos that were in the style I had in mind were all video essays so it made sense for me to replicate that. This was also going to be heavily scripted but then I decided to only use the script as a guideline as I wanted to feel natural in my dialogue. It was also going to be completely unbiased but I felt like that I had to come into it with a current opinion to make it work well.
The main source of research I had was looking at video essays on YouTube to get a feel for the style and editing, also looking at how people prepare themselves for a video essay. I also looked into scriptwriting for dramas as that would have been quite helpful, even though my film isn’t a drama, as it would help try to get the message of my film across and help fill gaps I could have had in the film.
Every source I found was extremely helpful which allowed me to come up with new ideas. I learned the specific style I wanted, how it would be edited, what kind of dialogue I would write, how the structure would go and what kinds of topics I would discuss.
I never felt that I was lost for sources to develop my idea as there were so many examples of video essays for me to get ideas from. Every video was extremely helpful that helped me find new ways of editing or dialogue. I learned the use of colours and the use of effects to make my film feel more alive. I wanted the film to be visually interesting so it made sense to try and watch as many video essays as I could.
Looking at more script writing would have been more helpful in the latter half of my film as I know that the last few minutes very much drag on so maybe if I had a better idea of what I wanted to say in the last 4 minutes by looking at more examples of scripts, that could have been helpful in the long run.
The first idea for this comes from the fact that I have a deep connection with the site YouTube, I had always wanted to discuss YouTube in some way and it made sense for me to for my major project be about something I was incredibly passionate about. I did a lot of brainstorming for topics I wanted to discuss which was helpful.
Everything was done at a good rate and was in line with my schedule and never felt I was rushed for time. I spent a good amount of time on each topic, coming up with specific facts and aspects like discussing the trends of YouTube and also the internet sensations. The last topic was the one I did struggle with the most as I wasn’t sure if it was going to be heavily scripted or adlibbed but I did eventually come to the conclusion of ad-libbing as I wanted a section of the film to feel like I was very opinionated and true with my discussion
I never really looked at filmmakers for this project as I feel it wasn’t really related to what the topic of the film was. I did look for different editing styles from films but I felt most were very much the same. I used content creators videos on YouTube were the most helpful for me.
The more I looked for ideas or learning about how a video essay was made the more it added to my bibliography. Each link was helpful to really craft my idea and making it a visible reality. The film takes big inspirations from just the background to the way text move or images being shown. Everything had a purpose due to the ideas I developed from my research.
I did face a few issues throughout the process but that didn’t affect the overall quality of my film in the long run.
I wanted had to read through my script and see if it was as easy to follow for my audience as it was for me. So, I gave my script to one of my fellow peers to read through and give me feedback on its structure and use of dialogue, while the feedback was positive when talking about structure and how well its paced, it was addressed that the words used felt quite robotic and didn’t seem natural. This was something I needed to fix as the whole point of this film is too came across as genuine as I wanted to be. So, instead of using the script beat for beat, I had decided to use the script more as a guideline for what I wanted to say making it more natural. This helped me understand what my strengths and weaknesses were in scriptwriting, I tend to write quite robotically with a very clear structure so I will have to try and be more creative in my writing in the future. This didn’t have a huge impact on my time as it was something I considered before beginning my script.
Another problem was trying to find the right music to go along with my film. I first tried to find something that was quite relaxing that was also well fitted with the voiceover. I tried music by Kevin MacLeod but that didn’t work well. I tried to look for other sites with free royalty music and I came along to a site called epidemicsound and listened to different tracks. I then thought that these tracks were very good for what I wanted so I used the free trial to be able to fairly use the tracks and downloaded 4 tracks. This was super helpful as now I have a source that will always have constant new content for me to look and use for my future films. This didn’t take very long to solve but looking for what kind of music I wanted to use out of the selection was a tough task.
A lot of research I did was to learn new was of using editing techniques and effects. As this was a very editing heavy project this was the most important aspect of production for me. I looked up ways to have smooth animation with fades. How to create a text that counts up in numbers and also how to edit along with my voiceover. This has made me feel so much more creative in my work as now I feel like I want to try and do different things every time it comes to a certain point of the film. This has improved my editing massively and now I feel confident with editing as a whole. This project in terms of editing has made me want to learn more and more and get better and better with every aspect of editing.
I lot of my outcomes with very good. The film was as long as I wanted it to be, the sound editing was the best I have done before, the visuals I used were in my eyes the best part about my film which was my aim when starting this project. The only thing I would do differently would be to come up with a range of topics to discuss as this only had 3 and I felt that the topics could have been more related to each other than they were.
If I felt I had a better idea I was more passionate about, that would have changed most of my ideas. The style was the core idea of my film with the topics being the way to help be develop my idea. The final film is what I felt I wanted it to be when first discussing my idea which I feel happy about.
The one thing I feel I can explore in my next project is my scriptwriting, trying to be more creative in my wordplay is a key thing I feel I could benefit from. Overall the outcome was very pleasing to see.
This project will be a huge benefit to my future projects in terms of my editing skills. The number of new skills I have learned from this will be the key to each new project as I always want to feel I am getting better and better. I feel confident in my creative ability to learn new ways to present thoughts and feelings about certain topics.
My organization skills were improved a lot as I handed in the film at the deadline along with all my research is up to date. I learned how to deal with feedback and use that to improve my work and I used research to better my skills as an editor with nice techniques.
Overall, I couldn’t be happier with the process and end product. This project was my most successful of the year for me as I have learned so much. I have learned how to edit a video essay, how to reflect upon my errors and improve on them and I have learned the style I feel confident with. The work I have done over the last two months has fueled my passion for filmmaking and will take everything I have learned from this project and apply it to all my future work.
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