The Sunny Side of COVID-19

With my video, “The Sunny Side of COVID-19”, I highlighted how many people took advantage of their new free time to be more active outdoors. I picked this topic because I was personally affected by COVID in this way. Before making my video, I had to alter my mindset towards the COVID-19 virus. Originally, all I could think about was the negative effects and how much I've missed out on this past year due to the pandemic. However, this assignment’s prompt forced me to reevaluate. After brainstorming, I was surprised at how many ideas I came up with but ended up going with the nature theme since I already had videos that fit this topic recorded this past summer.

After deciding on my topic, I created a storyboard that summarized my plan for the video. Before this assignment, I did not know this was a critical step in the process. Through this process, I have learned the importance of a variety of shots. In our class reading, The Basic Building Blocks-The Different Shot Type Families, the author explained how to use different shots and what effect they have on the viewer. I was able to use this information when deciding how I would film my beginning shots and interview clips.

While making this video, most of my time was spent editing clips together, rather than the actual filming like I first predicted. I already had many videos previously filmed over the course of the previous summer, however, cutting them all to an acceptable length was very time consuming. 

Surprisingly, my video editing skills improved quickly as I learned how to navigate through the iMovie software. One mentionable success I had was learning how to correctly record a voiceover, which was an essential task in my video. Using b-roll narration while other clips were playing in the foreground became increasingly important as I realized I could verbally describe how the videos connected with my message. 

I was also pleased with my use of many short clips rather than focusing on a few outdoor activities. Although each video was connected through the central theme of people getting active outdoors, there was a wide variety of activities, emphasizing the point that people were not all doing the same activities during the pandemic. With my use of videos involving a mixture of activities, I was glad to use classmates’ critiques in grouping together similar activities. This allowed for some structure within the larger project. 

While editing my video, I learned the impact and importance of music on generating an emotion on an audience. music can have on videos and films as in this case it generated important emotions. In my video, I chose to have the song Summertime Rain by Little North Fork playing in the background of the entire film. This choice created a warm and calm atmosphere. 

However, it was very difficult to film the interview parts of myself. Since my theme involved nature, I felt these clips needed to be filmed outside. Unfortunately, wind and other sounds associated with the outdoors, such as birds, planes, and lawnmowers, could not be excluded, forcing the audio during these clips to not be as clear. Another problem I found with these same clips, was that the person speaking, me, would mess up many times, forcing me to retake the videos tens of times, and hours of filming for five seconds worth of usable audio. As a consumer, I never realized how much time goes into making such a short video. 

After reviewing the final product, I wish I would’ve had more diversity in terms of shots. Most of my clips were filmed in a medium long shot angle. This is simply because it’s the most comfortable and natural distance to film when taping subjects that are moving or doing an activity, and most of my videos were not originally recorded for the purpose of this assignment. If I were to do this project again and with more time to film, I would diversify the angles of the shots to be included, allowing the entire project to have more variety. 

Overall, I enjoyed this project and I learned a lot about being a content creator. This process was very challenging but learning about the obstacles that come with producing a video has allowed me to have a new appreciation towards video editors. I was allowed to reflect on and alter my attitude towards the pandemic while expanding my skills and knowledge of video editing. Using my own videos of my friends and family truly made me realize how many memories the pandemic has brought myself and the people I love.