Hannah Typing Away in Coppee Hall

In this video, I've recorded Hannah sitting/typing at her desk in Coppee Hall. The way I went about recording this video is by taking 8 different clips while walking around Hannah to do a panning exercise. What I've noticed is that I definitely need steadier hands because there was a lot of shaking. Besides that, I think taking a lot of shorter clips is a pretty good strategy because it leaves less room for the camera to shake while I was moving around Hannah. 



In contrast to the first video, this one is a continuous recording of Hannah. Unfortunately, Windows Movie Maker split of the file when it was imported, but I combined them. The issue with this video is that there was some kind of warping that went on at several parts of the recording, which I think derives from the combining the involuntary split clips . I think this recording is ok one - because my hands were steadier, two because there aren't sudden movements/changes in perspective that dont contribute to effective transitions.

Alison Mango and Leaves

The first video is composed of a forty-five second clip that is continuous. It allows the viewer to see the problems that the camera can have with panning and maintaining its stability. It's basically the raw footage that people will start out with right after they finish shooting the material they wanted. It doesn't include the edits and effects that people would typically include with their videos.

The second video eliminates the weird gaps that a continuous clip can have but also interupts the flow of the video. In my opinino both of the videos have strengths and weaknesses and after you identify each of those strengths and weaknesses you are able to make a much better video.

Cory Making a Starbucks Run During Class

Video #1- long shot
Reflection text:
Although a rather shaky video, this panoramic view had certain benefits. It allowed  for a continuation of filming, (as oppose to having inconvenient interruptions in film). It also gave a more a larger context for the environment because you were able to continuously see all around the subject of the video. However, the video overall was terrible quality. The continuous filming led to shaky frames, a blurry subject and overall a poorly made video.


Video #2- several shorter shots
Reflection text:

Although this video had inconvenient interruptions in filming between each frame, this version of the video was overall a much better quality video. The subject of the video was clearer, her expressions were more clearly defined and her movements were a lot less blurry. Even though this video was of a similar length to the first video, it seemed to communicate the point of the video more effectively and in a shorter duration. The overall quality of the video was still slightly tainted by my inability to keep the camera still, but despite this, the video was still a lot clearer in comparison with the first video.

Cory ordering coffee at Upper.

Probably the main thing this assignment taught me was how terrible I am at taking videos.  As much as I would like to say that's not true, it is, and I'm not afraid or embarrassed to admit it.  Now that sounds a little harsh.  Aren't I being a little hard on myself?  The way I see it though, I'm not.  I know I need to improve, and by seeing what a bad video taker I am, I can see what I need to work on.  My first video, although the better of the two, is a little shaky.  However, I liked filming that way better than the second video, which is a collection of little clips.  To me, the second video doesn't seem to flow well.  Perhaps if I find a way to mesh the clips together better, my footage will turn out closer to how I want it to look.  That being said, I can only get better from here. 

Darcy Monaghan: Spinning is for Grown-ups Too

One of the things that I noticed while reviewing the second video was that sometimes horizontal lines would appear when I tried to follow Darcy's motion. In the first video, which allowed me to actually put multiple clips together, I felt like I captured the atmosphere of the situation on a more emotional level. I've noticed this in the past when making highlight reels; sometimes there's a portion of the video where really nothing is happening, and people are waiting for the next "event" to take place. With the clipped video, I could potentially cut out the moments where nothing was happening and record only the most interesting parts.

That being said, though, the longer video felt rushed, because I would sometimes start recording in the middle of the action, with no "buffer" leading up to what was actually going to happen. Had I been able to actually go and edit through different clips where time before the event was present in the video, I feel that the overall feel would have been much more professional; the main points would be captured, but they wouldn't be so close to one another as to feel like they were on top of each other.

Exploring Around Linderman Library
 
VIDEO NUMERO UNO

VIDEO NUMERO DOS
   
     Basically, it can be much harder to pan without stopping unless you have a great stabilization system for the camera. However, with the stopping and starting of the camera, the video came out choppy when the clip changed. In order to fix both of these, I think you need to find a good midway point between a continous shot and several shots from different angles. By using both and editing them to your needs, I thin both videos could be neater.
     I enjoyed shooting Kelsey (the girl drinking iced coffee!) because the background of the shot was picturesque and the shot looked great--except for the part where the threshold was crossed of light. At that point the camera ajusted to the changed in light but not before a small uncomfortable moment of horrible lighting. By shooting two shots at different angles, and cutting the film, this problem could be avoided.

Connor in Taylor Gym at Lehigh University

I like the second video better than the first because it's broken up into parts. The first video loses my attention and interest because nothing is really changing. The second video stops and starts, which creates a curiosity aspect as to what will happen next (not to mention, the second video is much funnier).

Jaclyn Hoexter Types in Coppee Hall

The first video is quite rough in the videotaping execution. Jaclyn changes where she is in the frame which makes it quite distracting. As well the main action of her typing is often cut out of the shot with only her head visible. Because the second video is a compilation of smaller video clips, it is choppy in nature. This video does a better job of keeping Jaclyn in the same place in the frame so it doesn't cause the viewer's eye to roam as much. However because they are still shots that have been put together, the shakiness is even more noticeable. The second type of video is more valuable for different perspectives of the same thing. For example, if you want to view a person's reaction to something you could have the perspective of viewing his or her face and also view the action of what he or she is reacting to by focusing from a different perspective. A combination of the first type and the second type would be most valuable to get an overall view of what is going on as well as a close up to view the emotions and specifics of the subjects in the video.

Christina Cavanaugh - The Coppee Hall Rebel

 

In the first video, I filmed constantly. This turned out to be pretty shaky and the lighting was really bad at points. Since she was moving around and I was just trying to follow her, when the light went directly behind her, she was completely in the shadows. When I was able to stop filming and reposition myself, I didn't have this problem. The issue I had with the starting and stopping was how choppy the video looked. I have to keep in mind that when I change my position, the background looks entirely different when the new clip starts so it makes the video look jumpy.

I do think that in this case, the jumpiness is better than the bad lighting and sometimes-too-close-shots of the constant stream. All of the intermediate details of what Christina was doing are not necessarily so exciting. However, with starting and stopping it is easier to miss things. Ideally, I think a video would turn out best if I take a constant film but then went on to edit it, taking out the awkward moments with weird lighting or when my hands were shaking.

Abby and Kelly Conversing in Upper Court in the University Center

Video #1

I would use the panoramic video over the short clips. I think if the activity that Abby and Kelly were doing had been different, then perhaps the shorts clips would have enhanced the video. However, they were sitting and chatting so I think the longer clip from all angles was more appropriate. In terms of things I need to work on, steadier hands would be priority number one, as well as learning how to position myself to get the best shot. In general, I want to improve on my panoramic shot because I think it conveys emotion and gives a more unique perspective to the viewer.

Sarah Siegel running and jumping at Lehigh University's Taylor Gym

The first video, where I continuously shot Sarah running up stairs, was more shaky and slightly more awkward to watch. I found that when I took shots from different angles of Sarah jumping off the box that it turned into a much less awkward video that was more interesting to watch. The first video was shaky because of my novice panning techniques, but I know for the future to be more steady with my hand so I can pan slower and steadier.

The many adventures of Meghan Barwick

Before viewing both these videos, I definitely thought that I would like the video where I pan over the video where I stop and move where I'm standing. It turned out to be the opposte. In the first video, it is really shakey, and Meghan's head is cut off a lot. It was hard to not only walk around her, but also film her while she was filming as well. Both of us moving, obviously resulting in the picture moving up and down. I think this took away from what she was doing, and you couldn't fully see what she was doing all of the time. The second video, I ended up liking a lot more than I thought I would. Even though I didn't edit it, and the the transistions were choppy..the different angles were really cool. With a little editing it would be a really smooth video of Meghan at different angles. So basically I liked the second video better.

Connor Cackovic Jumps Rope

The first video is much better than the second. Connor is easier to see from different angles vs. panning in the second video. The panning has some very shaking parts, which makes the video hard to see. The various angles are clear and easy to see. It's also cool to see him jumping rope from different angles instead of one single shot.

Video Practice in J24

Video 1


Video 2



My first video is pretty sloppy. My hands shook with every step.  I think the second set of clips was a big improvement; my hands were steadier, and I could get a better variation of angles to shoot from. Walking in between clips made for a better video overall. Dalisbeth did a great job sitting still.

Julie picking leaves at Lehigh University

Video 1 Video 2

In my first video of Julie, I was able to do a steady, continuous pan of her picking leaves. But, because I was walking up the stairs, I couldn't get a complete close-up pan of her. This was a good video because the pan seemed pretty steady, but I was only able to get mostly her back, which wasn't too interesting.

In the second video of Julie, I took eight clips about 5-8 seconds long of Julie picking leaves. With clips, I was able to take shots of Julie at many angles and viewpoints. This served the video well because she moved around so I was able to stop the camera and follow her. I could easily get close-up shots and far away shots of her as well. In my opinion, the clip style of shooting served this video better.

Courtney Buchanan works on her computer

The first video of Courtney is all from one shot. The execution of the video is quite rough. The video seems to be very slow at points and at others, it becomes very sloppy. Despite this the video gives a better overall perspective of what is going on in a sequence. The video composed of the clips although delayed in its action, is much smoother overall. The different perspectives add valuable insight and interest to the video. Although in both videos all of the action cannot be captured at once, such as Courtney’s typing, I think that they were able to highlight the more important aspects of her actions as a whole.

Katie Doing Crunches

The second video was much better. Moving around in the first one caused a lot of distractions and shakiness. I also cut out a lot when moving around, where the multiple clips video enabled me to get better shots.