Abstract exercise :Creation of Power of Nature

My personal investigation and process flow of the One-minute film created through the Abstract Exercise.
The industrial media task of layering abstract videos and abstract audios and then creating a one-minute film was very interesting and enriching.

The link for video uploaded on google Drive ishttps://docs.google.com/a/student.rmit.edu.au/file/d/0B2u-rV9i4nKWN3lxbGdIWmJPV3M/edit

Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/107556579

The biggest challenge was that the one-minute film had to be created with someone else’s footage of abstract clips.
As a first step, I got the footage together and tried to create a sequence and a theme out of it. It was quite challenging to create order however; I found one possible thread of nature amongst all clips I used. I used water, wind, and tree shot, flag blowing in the breeze. I left out all other shots with humans in them. If I was shooting, I would have shot with one theme and treatment in mind. But this footage has varied elements.
I put these all together in Adobe Premier. Then, I created a layering while editing the videos in Premier. The layering helped merge the visual to create an impactful and interesting edit.

In order to give the video an appropriate audio, I searched the free sound effects available online through links shared in the mediafactory.org.au. I zeroed in on freerecordist.com as it had the most suitable sounds I had in mind to give the video a purpose or a theme of nature. More and more, I progressed, I was clear that my video can connote and communicate the power which nature has to spread love.
The inner meaning: water and wind nurture our lives and help us prosper and help spread love. The bee in the last shot on a beautiful floral tree branch layered over a waterfall represents the buzz of love being spread and love flowing like a waterfall. This is the power of nature!
I also created a poem around this to signify the purpose of the video and to add the text on the sequence beginning and ending with a black screen to create a special interest and impact.
The text was:
Power of nature
The water flows soft
The wind blows with a whisper
Spreads the buzz of love
The colour of the text was selected basis the colour hues in the videos.

As the existing audio could not be used, began with searching and adding audios for each clip. I looked for sounds of water splashing, of wind blowing, thunder of clouds and a happy sound to signify love.
These were needed for audio layering to create an appropriate soundscape. I first layered across the film a low wind audio. Then layered this with sounds of water, wind, clouds and water again. The film could not be complete without music. So, I sourced Piano sound coupled with drums and created a sequence of music in garage band. This was then layered across the entire film.

I know that this was my first attempt to create an abstract film layer videos and audios to create a film. Layering needs to be so smooth across videos and audios that it goes smoothly for the viewer and he viewer can just experience the theme in entirity. I think overall, I was able to create a meaning and giving a purpose out of an abstract exercise and interpret it with layering. However, I do also believe that the transitions and the timing in my editing should have been better and certainly need improvement. Given the deadlines of assignments, I wish I could have spent more time on the same. But I am confident that the next one will certainly be an improved version☺
Hope , that with the total sum of my parts, as a whole, I am able to spread love with the power of nature!

Camera listens and Sound watches!

As part of the industrial media assignment on the reading ”Conventions of sound in documentary” by Jeffrey Rouff, we had to share two points of our interest from it.
For my love for sound, amongst the various examples of sound practices in the documentary tradition, I found the aspects of Location Sound and Music most interesting! Am sharing a synopsis of these topics from the reading as below:

Location Sound in a Documentary

One of the major stylistic characteristic of documentary using location sound recording is a low signal to noise ratio, which demands greater attention from the viewer to decipher spoken words. Without recognisable sources in the image to anchor sounds, we bear a virtual cacophony of clanging, snippets of dialogues and music and other unidentified sounds. Because the scenes are usually not shot in optimal conditions, it signifies that the sound is created for the listener! Interestingly location sound recording in such observational documentaries does not differentiate between foreground and background spaces but all sounds compete in the middle ground. Shotgun microphones are used to allow for narrative information and to raise the ratio of direct to reflected sound, thus isolating sounds in the environment. Directional microphones are used by recordists to place certain sounds in the foreground while relegating other sounds to the background.
Location sound recordists stay as close to the speaker without appearing in the frame. Observational cinematographers prefer viewfinders to see beyond the frame of the film for the perfect space for the roving mic.in Alan Raymond’s words,” the cameraman must listen to the dialogue, and the sound recordist must watch what the camera is shooting”
Observational shooting and editing techniques often does not permit for elaborate supervision of scripts, props, costumes, lighting, performance ad shooting style Anything that contributes to the frame finds it’s way into the narrative. Hence the narrative considerations may necessitate the use of less than technically satisfactory footage. For the reasons of continuity, observational documentary follows the chronological order in which they are shot since continuity conventions make it difficult to edit together actuality material shot at different locations!

Music in a documentary plays an important role in the soundscape of the film. A very interesting find: In early days, a shot of radio or record player signalled the diegetic source of recorded music. By this, the filmmakers indicated that the music was found on location. This practice is also a result of legal and financial concerns. Filmmakers believe if they can prove that they are using a musical segment as social document, they will not be obliged to pay user’s fees to copyright owners.
While the conventions of observational film requires the music to be recorded at location, the function of music in the narrative is to provide continuity, cover up for edits, change of scenes, provides moods, allows for narrative interludes, comments on the action.
Lately documentary filmmakers have become as rigorous as their Hollywood counterparts in finding musical passages, which contribute to narrative and thematic concerns of the film.