Having never been part of a video production before, I was intrigued when I learned of the final project in Comm 296. It was an interesting take on what would normally be a formal presentation: suits, standing nervously in front of a room, and reciting lines
verbatim from cue cards prepared days earlier. Instead, this offered a chance at creativity and leeway for mistakes, giving our group an opportunity to produce exactly what we wanted. The experience was a nice change of pace from the norm, and one which allowed some perspective on different and engaging ways of presenting work.
There were several elements of our project which worked well. Our choice of theme (Mad Men) allowed us to produce a distinct and creative video in a boardroom setting, and present our project in a way that looked natural and flowed well from shot to shot. Additionally, our effective division of labour allowed us to overcome scheduling conflicts that could have caused severe issues if not managed properly.
Alternatively, there were pieces that failed to materialize as envisioned. Due to individual schedules that were not particularly synergistic, we had to get our filming done on a very strict timeline. This did not allow us to play around with the filming aspect as much as we would have liked, so we were unable to try out many panning shots or instances mid-shot zooming that could have added more depth to the visual parts of the project.
Overall, the project was extremely enjoyable. The ability to construct the project on our own time allowed us to retake shots and remedy mistakes in a much more relaxed setting. It also allowed for a more creative angle, which made executing the project a lot of fun. We learned from the onset the importance of a good script, as any scenes that attempted improvisation were weak and had to be changed before filming. Additionally, exposure to video editing and composition is a new skill that can be used in the future.The nature of
the project allowed us to treat it as a learning experience rather than a hurdle to jump over for the sake of our grades, and this helped each of us become much more involved and engaged with the project.