Synopsis
The idea for my ident is essentially the mixing and creation of a simple cocktail. This is relative to my own identity as I spent the last 4 years working behind bars and experimenting with many different mixers.
Initially the camera will be zoomed deep into the glass focused on the pouring and blending of the liquid. Here I will experiment with lighting as a device to enhance the colours and textures of the blending liquid.
The camera will gradually zoom out to show a full view of the final product (the completed cocktail).
I am planning to experiment with lighting and camera angles, considering how the light reflects on the glass and the liquid.
I am planning to use sound to emphasise the noises made by the pouring of liquid into glass and liquid into liquid. I will experiment with recreating natural sound.
Planning
Once I decided on an idea my first experiment was to find a drink that I could quickly mix and that would look effective. I also wanted to find a glass that would be suitable.
I worked with several different ideas, taking photos and also timing the creation. I soon learnt that anything complex to create was going to take too much time. My final result was simply mixing grenadine into orange juice. This was something quick and simple that I could do in the time limit and that also looked very effective.
Filming
This was the first time for me using most of the equipment so it was very much just a case of trial and error. With many people wanting to use the equipment, time was very limited.
I required someone else to film for me while I mixed the cocktail. This made my initial plans for filming rather difficult as they didn’t seem to understand what I wanted. I ended up having to really simplify the filming process and work with just one angle. The result was beginning with a close up of the glass and gradually zooming out. Overall I was not entirely happy with my final clip. I think I had set my expectations to high for the lack of experience that I have in this area. However this has been a learning point for filming in the future.
Editing
This was another case of trial and error for me. It was my first experience using Macs and the software. I worked in Adobe Premier Pro as this was accessible from more computers. I spent some time playing around with some trial filming to find my way around the program. Once I was confident enough I started on my actual project. My lack of experience made this quite a lengthy process. I also found the ‘undo’ button very handy!
The biggest problem that I faced was working out what settings different things needed to be in.
Reflection
Overall this project was very much about learning the technology for me. I feel that the final outcome of my Ident reflects this lack of experience.
Even though I am not entirely happy with the piece, it has been a great learning experience for me. I feel that I can now experiment with something more complex for my next project.
It was difficult to plan what I wanted to accomplish with my Ident when I had no knowledge of the programs. Now that I know how things work I will be able to properly plan for my next project.
One thing that I really had difficulty with and am still unsure of is knowing what settings I should be using for different things. This problem became really evident when I reached the stage of exporting and burning to DVD. I am hoping that I have done this correctly as I was following written instructions.
Knowing what I now do I feel my Ident could be much better than what it is. However it has been a very useful learning project for me and I look forward to being able to do something better for my next project.
