Pandemic Positives: Spending Time With Family

 

I much enjoyed the thought experiment of focusing on one positive from the pandemic. Although it is important to acknowledge the gravity of COVID-19, it is still healthy to be grateful of the blessing we still have in our lives. 

My biggest pandemic positive was spending time with family. During pre-COVID times, I would spend the majority of my time focusing on school and work, and manage to stay connected with family through phone calls and visiting over breaks. However, due to quarantine, I lived at home and therefore got to participate in more family activities.

In my video, I not only discussed my experiences, but I also got a chance to interview several other Trinity students on their experience with spending time with family during the pandemic. My goal with this format was to mock what a news reporter might do while gaining other perspectives on the matter.

Throughout the filming and editing process, I gained a newfound respect for media producers.

Regarding the filming process, I learned the importance of using a variety of video shots to establish setting, ease transitions, and create aesthetic appeal. I managed to use a combination of long shots, medium shots, medium close-ups, close-ups, and big close-up shots.

On the other hand, the editing process made me appreciate how many moving parts go into a video. In my experience, this included an A and B-roll, transition effects, overlaying soundtracks, doctoring the audio, and splicing in sound track music.

In order to create smooth transitions between clips, I used a couple of strategies. First, I used longer shots between close-up shots in order to appropriately establish settings. Second, on the editing side, I used a variety of transition effects on premier pro including the cross-dissolve effect. Lastly, I was surprised to find how effective the sound track music was to the transitions. I used a soundtrack call Optimistic by Eric Godlow. By increasing the music between clips and while the subjects of my video were not talking, I believe that the music created a sense of flow. Thus, further improving the transitions.

However, one area that I could of improved on was the B roll. During the sections of the video that I filmed of myself and narrated, my B-roll included real life activities of me and my family. I wish I would have reciprocated the use of a B-roll while interviewing other Trinity students on their experiences. Maybe I could have asked them if they were comfortable sharing pictures of footage of with their families during the pandemic.