First, I’d like to start off by saying I am definitely no film person and I sort of struggled with an idea for this project. After I was unsuccessful about thinking of what I wanted to film I decided to try to try to come at this from a different angle. Instead of thinking of what to film I started to think about the emotion I wanted my viewer to feel. From that point I figured out what I wanted to film and how to put it all together. I do not own a video camera so I shot the video with my cell phone camera, which is capable of shooting in HD, but was still difficult. I then took the video and uploaded it into Windows Moviemaker. I cut the time down to about one minute and six seconds. This is where I added the video effects, and imported the song. The song is called “Oh, Look What the Sun Did,” by Josh Rouse. Adding the song was definitely less about the background music and more about the lyrics. The words flow effortless into the film and I believe give the film added depth and substance.
The film is set on the shores of Cass Lake. I live on Cass Lake and find it to be a very tranquil environment. I was hoping to get the viewer to have a sense of peace while viewing the video. From the beginning, the film begins in the heights of the trees with the sky as the backdrop. I slowly pan through the trees and across the lake to find the sun setting in the distance. I held the camera on the setting sun because I was hoping the viewer would be able to feel as though they were on the edge of lake gazing off into the sunset pondering thoughts for day, happy/sad times, or maybe memories from the past. I only used three video effects. The first two were the “Fade In and Out” and the beginning and end of the film. I also added an “old” video effect as well. This really helped set the tone for me. My entire goal for the film was for it to look like the backdrop of an old home video. The music, I believe, was a nice touch. I know we are supposed to focus on the visual, but I felt like that song matched the film perfectly. To be completely honest, the use of the old video effect was two-fold. I love that it made it look like an old home video, but it also helped to disguise the poor quality from my cell phone camera!
My hope is that the film will spark feelings from the past, old home videos, and happy times for my viewer. I was hoping that by keeping the camera focused on the setting sun with the snow covered lake underneath that my viewer would be able to stare into that spot and use it as a canvas for those memories. The film is supposed to be a place for people to go for deep thought, imagination, and reflection. Every single time I watch the video, complete with the editing, music, and video effects I imagine in my head old family home videos, kids playing outside, ice skating on a pond, happy times, innocent days of the past, etc. Hopefully, the video will be able to set the stage for the daydreams of my viewers; as it is meant to be a setting, canvas, stage, crystal ball. What are you able to imagine while staring off into the sunset?
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