Final Cut

Lava Lamp Revamp!



This is a step closer to a more final-ish product of the previous video.

Rough Sketch #3 : Lava Lamp

I wanted to make an abstract film, which turned out visually very true to what I had in mind before I searched for subjects to film. The sound was recorded after the images were edited; I desperately needed a *swooshing* sound, so I went crazy with wooden dowels in my garage (and later slowed them down, giving them the angelic / wisp-like sound that is the result).

P.S. The lights were on a Christmas tree. Sweet.

Rough Sketch #2 : Liquid Light

This was recorded at the same Christmas display as Lava Lamp (above). I spun in a LOT of circles to get this motion (most of which are still pictures. Crazily realistic, huh?

Anyway, the sound was a washing machine. Obvious? I'm not sure because I recorded it... I originally wanted to

Rough Sketch #1 : Bubbles

This was basically a test edit to try synced audio with a non-linear series of images / motion images. It was taken from a silent one-shot clip of a leaky pipe in a fountain. The sounds were recorded after the image was captured.

Production Strategy

This is where I would like to begin my trek:
Map

Production Strategy No. 1 ) Film only light which is man-made (at night).
Production Strategy No. 2 ) Try filming things with similar motion (a great deal of both linear and radial for contrast)

Ten Questions

1 ) Is there a place on the lake where I won't also record traffic sounds?
2 ) What's a better angle to shoot water from?
3 ) Is there a way to make a shot look submerged in liquid (without breaking the department's cameras and having to buy them a new one)?
4 ) What time of day is best for shooting water?
5 ) What parts of the shoreline are best for visual capture?
6 ) Where would man-made lights be the most dense?
7 ) How does natural motion of light look on a slow shutter speed opposed to moving the camera itself?
8 ) What kind of motion is more visually pleasing (linear or radial, pertaining primarily to the blurs/streaks of light).
9 ) How can I film in the city and remove myself from a street drone as much as possible?
10) How do I avoid people when shooting (or how would I include them [artistically], if willing)?

Trek Assessment #4

My favorite experience while on either Trek was the water recording from Trek 02. It was just amazingly serene; and I can recall that feeling when I listen to the sound I captured from it.

Trek Assessment #3

A few things that surprised me on the previous Treks:

1 ) How high of a contrast the light pictures at night had :: neon-ish lighting upon pure black, opposed to when I saw them, which blended more naturally. Neat effect!
2 ) The clarity of the lake water that I filmed; it didn't seem that transparent when I was there
3 ) How much detail that I could block out when recording wild audio. I have to keep in mind that I'm not recording what I'm hearing, I'm recording what IS.

Trek Assessment #2

The most peaceful I felt on the other two treks was at the lake - especially on Trek 01 when I was actually IN the water for a while (as cold as it was). There's a really calming motion about water, which is another aspect I'd like to explore more (could combine with the 'liquid light' aspects I also want to do.

Trek Assessment #1

Here are a few stressors from my previous Treks:

1 ) Trek 02 started with a bike ride down to the Lake, where my chain fell off. Then it rained.
2 ) Trek 01 was a windy-ish day; the homemade windscreens on my microphones did help filter out some of the hissing, but the sounds were still (sometimes) present right next to something I would have liked to keep.
3 ) On Trek 02, I wanted to take some mademade light pictures at night - and I ...jiggled while taking the first couple, which I thought would be bad. But then I reviewed the pictures and actually really liked them; I want to experiment more with 'liquid' light in this Trek.