Journal 2/28/2006

The script was most helpful for visualizing my project from start to finish. While I don't have all the camera angles worked out completely, I now have a much clearer grasp on the visuals and especially the sound. Previously, I had not even considered sound until the Zettl book mentioned it as part of the visualization process. Suddenly, I felt like I had only done half the work I was supposed to. Luckily, the sound was relatively straightfoward for my piece, and I added quite a few sound effects for flair.

Another technical issue I ran into was having to choose what I wanted to visualize at any given point in time. For example, I imagined that I could focus on the computer screen while simultaneously focusing on the writer's face. This is not feasible when working with the camera (and I don't want to do a split screen). Most of the time I chose to cut between what was being shown on the screen and the writer's face.

The script also helps me to see just how short 30 seconds really is. I find myself wondering, can I really show that in just 2 seconds? But if I actually sit back and run through the video in my mind, I find that actually a lot can fit in 2 seconds. I have a decent amount of leeway because I think I will be able to control the length of the abstract imagery sections of the piece. Thus, if the live action goes over by a second or two, I will hopefully be able to cut/add a second or two during the abstract imagery scenes.

On another note, my web programming courses in undergrad seem to be coming in handy. It took me a while to get the pdf file into NYU Home and link to it correctly from blogger, but after a little tweaking the HTML I got it to work. A lot of people seem to be having problems with this as well. I'm not sure if this is the easiest way, but I have a short procedure that I wrote up in case people are still struggling.

How to get the friggin uploady thingy to work