To start, I created the video below as a Junior at Lincoln Lutheran High School. Aa part of a Video Editing class offered here at Lincoln Lutheran, we have spent the semester filming, editing, and learning how to create video pieces. As part of our final video of the year, we were given the option to develop a video of our choice, but it had to include shots that were cut on action (scenes that are pieced together when individuals are moving). As a result, I chose to create a video of my dad and my brother playing a game of cornhole. I took this project the particular direction that I did because I knew that I could gather solid cutting on action clips of the actual cornhole game (and of bags flying). Also, I wanted to create a video that was intriguing and entertaining, so that is why many of the scenes (and my dad himself) are included.
There are a couple of distinct aspects of this video that I am the most proud of. For one, I am proud of the beginning of my video. I feel that the clips of my dad preparing for the game and walking out of the house all fit together well (and serve as great cutting on action instances). I also am proud of the sequence of clips in which I show the bag going into the hole, and then having a shot underneath the board in which the bag fell onto my phone. These shots were very unique, and provided great variety! Lastly, I really enjoy the middle section of my video in which I showed them playing rock paper scissors, starring at each other, and the western showdown music was playing. Personally, I really like this section because not only does the music make it very entertaining, but I feel that there were great angles and shots in this sequence.
While the process of creating this video was certainly enjoyable, I did run across a couple of challenges. The first challenge that I ran across was trying to decide if I should put the entire interview at the end of the video, or scatter the clips throughout the actual game of cornhole instead. Personally, this was a very difficult decision to make, but I learned a great lesson from it. From this conflict, I learned the importance of experimenting with your clips in the editing process. This is precisely what I did, and I determined that the interview fit into this piece better at the end! Another challenge that I came across was the overall sound of this piece. First off, determining which song to use in the background was challenging (especially when it came to finding a Royalty Free song). In all, though, I learned the importance of being willing to spend a little bit of extra time on searching for fitting music. Secondly, many of clips had great ambient sound that I wanted in include, but the wind often created jarring noises. As a result, I had to use the sound from other clips and put them on just the visuals of other scenes.
In all, if I had to approach this project again, there is not a whole lot that I would change. I would probably spend little bit of additional time on my brother’s interview. He was not willing to cooperate on the day that I filmed his interview because he had a very busy day. As a result, he didn’t give as thorough of responses as I had hoped for. Secondly, if I had to do this project again, I would probably gather a couple more shots. When filming this piece, I gathered a lot of great angles, but I think that I could have gathered additional shots as well (especially a shot behind them while they were throwing). In the end, while there were certainly things that I would change, I am very pleased with the outcome of my video!
