No grand gestures necessary

Today I was in the Ferg filling out some paperwork when a guy asked me is I was a TCF student. I looked up at him and politely said yes and he says, "You're Tiffany right? I think you know my father. He showed me some of your work and I really liked it."

Now I've done about 10 projects before and I immediately knew what work he was talking about. He was talking about the digital story I made in your class over the summer. My first instinct was to be embarrassed. The story was very personal and I feel weird when someone tells me they've seen it. Then I was flattered that he went out of his way to compliment me and introduce himself.

So what's my point? This is why I want to edit. Simple words like, "I enjoyed your work". It's nice to hear, I don't need Oscars, awards, A's, etc. Someone enjoyed something I did and they took the time out to tell me. I've been smiling ever since. :-)

Lessons Learned

I didn’t realize telling a story using only visuals was so hard. I’ve always been okay with editing but this time I had a hard time because I had to rely solely on the footage I shot. I’m so used to using sound, pacing, and other things to help get my point across. One of my main problems is/was and probably always will be is my lack of planning. I didn’t think my project all the way through so when we were finished, I didn’t have what I needed to tell a story. If I would have planned, maybe I would have thought to add simple things like books, a teacher, and other things I could have shot to get my point across more.

I think I learned what planning can help you do. I was really impressed with how people approached their project especially the ones who did their project on a person. It look like they really spent time on it during pre production instead of all their energy in post (like moi).

Portrait of a Place

Options

I never really thought about how important the decision of what type of camera you use is. I've always just used the camera given to me and made it work. Knowing what I know now, each camera is a bit different. I think you should judge what type of camera you use on what exactly you plan to film and where/when you plan to film it. I want to shoot outside but I've always had trouble with overexposure and since I only have the camera for so long, I want to use a camera I am comfortable with. I'm choosing the SonyHDV. Even though both cameras have irises that I can adjust, I like having the option of two ND filters instead of one. They've helped me a lot in the past especially when it comes to filming smack dab in the middle of the day. Also, the last few times I've shot something for class, I used the Sony HDV. I'm not entirely comfortable with using just SD cards, but the few times I have used it, the footage was transferred to my harddrive really easily. Plus I think there is only one computer in the lab that takes HD tapes and I don't want to risk that. (I'm not even sure if the Sony HDV does need a HD tape deck). I think they're both really cool cameras plus for some reason, I can't handle a JVC. I always feel uneasy handling it so that is another reason I am using the SonyHDV.

Hopefully my project turns out well.