Monday, March 14, 2016

Lights, Camera, Action!

When looking at forms of communication it is easy to see that video is becoming a more common form of expression for most people. There are websites specifically designed for creating and distributing video content to the world. When looking at some of the most used websites, YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat, and Vine, all focus around the sharing and creating of video content. They allow for easy step by step usage for people who aren't technology savvy. Even our means of shooting video are made to be fast and easy to operate.  Phones and digital cameras have HD quality video recording which makes videos look more professional than ever before. In the old days, it was unfathomable to make a video look as professional and allow us to edit our video content like we can do now.
                                                                                                                                                                          
When creating any form of art expression whether it's a painting, photography, music or a video we use certain elements to express our message.  Video, unlike any of the other art forms, allows us to express using many different forms of media. We create and take video which is only the base of what the final product will be.  We can manipulate that base footage to be dark, comical, sad, thrilling all by how we cut the footage, the effects we use and other post production tools we want to get our message across. We can use not only visual manipulation but videos allow us to use music and audio to manipulate what people see and feel.  Video allows us to experiment with many forms media to express or message.

When looking at the benefit of video compared to writing, we can look at what video allows us to do that writing can't. Writing allows us to create more mental imagery and emphasis on the details.  Video on the other hand can expose almost all our senses to get the same desired effects across in a more visual and auditory manner. People are always comparing books and their movie counterparts. While most people believe most movies can't hold up to their literary beginnings, it's a great example of comparing the two forms of communication. Most people argue writings allow for more focus on the small and personal traits of the story.  People seem to be able make a more personal connection with writing still. Hang on though, Video sometimes can miss those small details. While on other hand, with creative minds and technology we are seeing people come up with new and creative ways to use media to become a lot more of an effective way to use express a message then writing. As the age of technology continues to connect us to more people, video is becoming an easier way to communicate then writing is. We can reach more people who either are unable to read our language and pick up are language cues because of culture barriers. It is true that most people outside of our country relate to Americans not through literary work but through what else? Movies and videos. They pick up on cues and culture based on the videos we make in Hollywood and connect them to our culture.

The hardest part of creating a video and telling a story is deciding how you want to tell it and filming it. Creating a video story, it takes vision and organization. You need to have a visual plan to execute. When creating a video a lot of time the vision you have and the final project turn out differently but it is key to have a plan and allow the creative process to evolve and turn your video into what it becomes.  This can be very difficult for some people to do and create a lot of frustration of things not being how they want.

Secondly, we have access to cameras and more technology now unlike any other time in history, but it doesn't mean people have the creative tools to use it to film and create a unique message. The filming and creating of the message you are trying to create is the hardest part. If you are creating a video on your own, it is sometimes difficult to come up with good and unique ways of filming yourself and create great shots that look visually pleasing and add to your video. Everyone now a days is a selfie champion. We all can take a self-portrait without breaking a sweat.  Taking shots with unique angles and filming yourself is tricky to do well though and takes some trial and error to get the shot you want. We can do a lot of work to make a video look unique and professional in post effect but the basic foundation is we can't make bad film look good. So the hardest part of creating video is still the actual creation of the footage and taking good video.

With most things being universal now, video software, is pretty much universal whether you’re using Adobe or IMovie. There are subtle differences in the two softwares but it is more about just learning where things are in each software that make it tough to use.  The layout though are interchangeable. So, if you can manage to learn and figure out any video editing software creating and editing video is a walk in the park. Software allows for easy ways to post your videos to social media sites and the internet. Or export it to a device.

In conclusion, video work is a major aspect of communication moving forward in our culture and the connecting of the world. Video is gaining major momentum to catching writing as a more effective way to communicate, more people are able to use and access technology to create video and share their work with the world, yet the battle still today is the creative side of creating video and deciding what your message is. We can all create videos but still only select amount of people can create good videos.



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