Video Blogging Week: “Cellphone Film School”
I got into the spirit of Video Blogging Week after going to SuperHappyVlogHouse last weekend. Figured I’d see what I could do with my cell phone, which is the only video device I currently have. Not much is the answer. But I had some fun trying.
All the images and sounds you hear below were recorded with my Nokia 6103, and edited using CinemaForge to convert WMV clips to QuickTime; QuickTime Pro to edit, filter and encode the video and Audacity to edit the audio. Files are all hosted over at my Blip.tv account.
In lieu of having anything interesting to say or putting any production value into this, I simply tried to present examples of traditional does and don’ts I was taught in film school. If I save one person from unknowingly breaking the 180 degree rule or get a vlogger to stop and think about story structure before turning on a camera, then I’ll consider this project a success.
Day One — “Vlogging Schmogging”
In which I ask myself, “Hey, trying this whole close-up crap-cam thing for a week couldn’t hurt, could it?”
Day Two — “The Kuleshov Effect”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuleshov_effect
Day Three — “Spun 180 Degrees”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/180_degree_rule
Day Four — “Sound Affected”
Day Five — “Hero Worshipping Joseph ‘Fucking’ Campbell”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Campbell
Day Six — “Cashless Montage”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_montage_theory
Day Seven — “Denouement With Hats”
All the links try and download some blip tv file to my computer.
Should be fixed now. Haven’t figured out exactly what embed combination will work with wordpress.com — neither objects, embeds nor scripts are allowed, and there’s no “wordpress.com” preset on Blip.
Cool Film Theory Geekery here in what looks like some 8mm footage taken on your cell camera.
Breaking the 180 rule felt like you were spinning around while talking to Schlomo.
And I’ve never heard of the Kuleshov effect before. After reading about it, I tried to go back in my mind to see if I though that those were different shots/expressions on your face. I presume that my brain thought they were, but I can’t know for sure.
Loved the sound effect montage.
Re: Dramatic arc — Douglas Rushkoff actually thinks that online media has more to do with making links and associations rather than a more formal narrative arc, This PopTech! speech is worth a listen or two: http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail243.html