Final Project

Sound, Video and Stills - Multimedia Project

Culmination of course - worth 20% of grade.

You will need to turn in a one page Story Idea for this assignment and you will present your idea in class. See the schedule for the due date. Story Idea Guide

Objective: The object of this assignment is to tell an interesting 1:30 to 2:00 story of significance. The story may be serious or humorous. Since this is a Journalism assignment, you should not direct people. It is your job to capture events as they happen, not stop and start them for your shooting convenience. It must include:

Examples:
NOT "Mom makes brownies." "Joe takes a motorcycle ride."
OK "Julie shows us why she loves skate boarding." "Mary shows us how the sport of Geo caching is played." "My job as a radio show producer." "Balancing my job as a mom and sex crime detective." "What's it take to run a brew pub."

Differences between Video Sequence and Final Project:
Similarities:
There must be at least two sequences.
There must be a matched action edit.
180° rule must be observed.
No jump cuts.
There must be some Natural Sound.
No music unless it's part of the story.
All shots are steady.
Story has a clear beginning, middle and end.

Differences:
There must be at least one interview - remember the handshake shot.
Include stills and video.
No staging.
Longer story - 1:30 - 2:00.

Natural Sound

At least one interview - with a handshake shot.

Visually, it must be a mixture of stills and moving images.

You have seen excellent examples of such stories in class. You will use a variety of shots and edit the story to no more than two minutes in length using Premiere Pro.

Assignment: Make a 1:30 to 2:00 video that tells an interesting story with a clear beginning, middle and end, using stills, video and sound you record - natural sound and interviews. Music may not be used unless your subject is a musician. You should use a variety of shots and edit the story to no more than two minutes in length using Premiere Pro. Remember to shoot video sequences and vary your stills so they are a good mixture of wide, medium and close up shots.

How to Pick Your Subject

This story may not be about a family member or a boyfriend, girlfriend or a pet.

Identify an interesting person or group of people who are doing something visually interesting. Whatever they are doing is the basis of your story. Since this is to be a visual story, I can’t emphasis enough the importance of picking someone who is doing something that is visually interesting. This a story about someone doing something NOT someone talking about doing something. The story must have a clear beginning, middle and end.

Video: Before you shoot your video, practice with the camera in the video mode. Pay attention to the focus setting. Unless the camera is in Auto Focus, you will have to manually adjust your shots. For the video portion of the story, try to find something to shoot that has action that is repeatable. Let me repeat that. Find something that is repeatable. And for emphasis--find something that is repeatable. Shoot sequences - wide, medium and close shots that you edit together to tell the story. NO ZOOMS are allowed and only use motivated pans - you follow something through the frame. Your finished video must have at least two sequences (wide, medium close shots - not necessarily in that order).

You may choose to shoot the interviews for this story on video. You MUST also shoot additional video. Be sure to shoot video of someone doing something.

You will need to have several shots of the same action from different angles and magnifications so that they may be edited together seamlessly. Since you will NOT be directing the subject, the best subject is something that naturally repeats in a cycle.

Shots will be graded on steadiness so use a tripod if that’s what it takes.

Working videographers learn to shoot quickly and anticipate the subject's next move. If a close up is needed, the photographer puts the lens where the subject is likely to be next. The camera is there, and steady, waiting for the clean entry of the subject. If the subject naturally repeats action, some of the urgency in figuring out where to be is reduced. You have time to set up your shots from different viewpoints.

Stills: The stills should compliment the video and add a unique element to the story. It is fine to animate the stills but it is not required. Remember to provide good shot variety - wide, medium and close.

Interviewing

You MUST identify who is speaking - remember the "handshake" shot. "My name is Steve Sweitzer and I teach J210." While showing my face. You can do this by having them introduce themselves (see “Compound question” below), or you may do it with narration or SUPERS (text on the screen).

Be sure to cover some of the interview with stills and or video.

When you interview the subject ask a compound question that is not subject to yes, no or other short replies. Your job is to get the subject talking. Resist the urge to talk with the subject. Nod your head or smile (if appropriate) to keep the subject talking. Naturally you would not smile if the subject is discussing a traumatic experience. When you edit the interview, pick short expressive sound bites. DO NOT LET THE PERSON TALK NON-STOP FOR THE DURATION OF THE VIDEO. Interviews should be broken up with natural sound.

Pay attention to cues the subject may be giving you. Make mental notes during the interview of the images/video you will need to capture to accompany the interview. If they talk about their dog, you will need shots of the dog. As we did with the Swing Tutorial, you can insert pictures while the interview continues.

You may want to do a sit down interview with your subject. Ask a compound question to get them to introduce themselves and what they do. When you think you have good content, stop the interview and shoot the subject doing what they do using the variety of shots at your disposal. Remember, the point of the interview is to get good sound bites. If people don’t speak in complete sentences, ask the question again - “I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you mean.”

Edit the interview for the content you want. Every place there is an edit of the person's voice, the head and body position will change slightly in the video. This is called a jump cut. You can cover the jump with the other video you shot or with stills. Perhaps you only see the person's head at the beginning of the interview - long enough to identify who is talking, and then cover the rest with stills or b-roll(video of them doing something that relates to the interview).

Sound: You may narrate your story or tell it with the material from the interview. Music is only permitted if it is part of the story - for example the story is about a rock band or a street musician. Sound must be clear and understandable. This means you can’t interview people in loud settings. If the situation you are shooting is loud, take them somewhere quiet for the interview.

There should be sound with all pictures, even if it is only natural sound.

Shooting

Pictures MUST BE STEADY! Use a tripod for shooting interviews. You have a lot to keep in mind as you shoot. Your story should have a beginning, middle and end. You should use a variety of shots from wide shots to close ups and you should maintain screen direction (remember the 180 rule). Remember you should not shoot everything from the same position - shoot and move, shoot and move. As you edit from one shot to another, viewpoint and image size should change. You must have at least one matched action edit and two sequence in your story.

No staging: There is a difference between directing someone to do something and shooting action as it naturally occurs. It's the difference between telling someone what you want them to do and asking them what they plan do to or asking "What's the next step in this process?"

No zooms are allowed, control image magnification with a hand-held camera by moving your feet - walk closer. Keep the lens on the most wide-angle setting (W). If you want high magnification move closer to the subject. These cameras will focus very close (an inch or two away). Do let the action enter the frame cleanly and exit cleanly before stopping the shot.

Don't shoot more than 30 minutes of raw footage - shooting more will only complicate your editing. Study the subject for a while before shooting. Decide where you want your shots to be and what you want your story to be. In practice, news photographers have to edit their stories on deadline. Logging footage that is not needed slows down the whole process.

The finished, edited project should be at least 1:30 and should not exceed two minutes. Ensure that there is no data display (date, time, etc.) in the frame when you record your video and stills.

Importing your video - these are the step by step instructions for importing your video (copying it from your camera card to your computer.)

Requirements:

Let the action take place with little or no intervention on your part. You are trying to simulate what a news photographer would do. This is different from the video skills assignment.
There is a "handshake" shot near the beginning so we know who is talking. Everyone who speaks is identified with audio or a title.
No repeated shots.
No longer than 2:00 minutes.
No jump cuts.
Incorporate at least two video sequences (wide, medium and close up shot; edited together to make the sequence) and one “match action” edit.
Use a variety of still and video shots, wide, medium and close up (in an order that makes sense to the viewer).
Shots must be steady - it is STRONGLY SUGGESTED that you use a tripod.
Sound is clean and understandable.
Tell a story with a clear beginning, middle and end.
Everyone who speaks is identified - either they do it or you do it with on screen text.
The visuals must be a mixture of stills and video.
Name your story: Final Project YourLastName Tu or Th
Follow these instructions to Export Your Video. Upload your finished movie to the Final Project folder in Box.com

Suggestions:

Shoot with the lens in the Wide position if you are hand holding the camera.
If the camera is braced or on a tripod, you can use the telephoto setting.
Action that naturally repeats is a great opportunity to create a sequence with shots from different viewpoints and image magnification.
Think about the primary action and think about the reaction - play shoots goal (action), crowd cheers (reaction); we need to see both.
You can pick your viewpoints and shoot LS, MS, CU shots from each viewpoint. You have lots of choices in editing but don't edit on a vector even though you may have shot your shots on a vector (everything shot from the same location).
One way to successfully avoid screen direction problems in shooting an active person is to imagine a line extending perpendicular through the person's nose to infinity. Start shooting on one side of the nose and don't cross the "nose line." If you need to cross the line, use a neutral shot or cut-away to cover the crossover.

If you’re at a loss for what and how to shoot, please talk to me - don’t wait until the last minute. You should allow yourself a week to edit the story. Editing is a time consuming process under the best of circumstances. Also, look at this blog by Kathy Strauss for her experiences during a workshop where she worked on a similar assignment. Notes from a Workshop.

Grading Rubric
A	Shots are steady. People cleanly enter and exit the frame. Extraneous audio is absent. Story line is focused with a clear beginning, middle and end. There are no jump cuts and 180 axis is not crossed. All required stills, video and sound are included. Audio is clear and there is a good "handshake" shot.
B	Most shots are good. Most shots are steady. Most edits are clean. Story is fairly focused, with a beginning, middle and end. There are few jump cuts and 180 access is not crossed. Most required stills, video and sound are included. Audio is fairly clear and there is a good "handshake" shot.
C	Basic assignment is met but with room for improvement. Some shots are unsteady. Edits may not be in appropriate places. Other mistakes are present. The storyline is unclear. There are jump cuts or the 180 axis is crossed. Not all required stills, video and sound are included.
D	Assignment is incomplete. Shots are unsteady. Screen direction not followed. Mistakes are evident. Storyline is not clear. Not all required stills, video and sound are included.