This week I got to get more practice with making and editing videos and I actually had a lot of fun with the process. I got to try out making videos with TikTok for all of this week’s assignments and I highly recommend it. It allows you to record, edit, add captions, add effects, and even add music all on one app! This week I also went over my past goals for this class and checked how much progress I made so far which I spoke more about in my post The Journey So Far.
New Discoveries and Experiences
Used TikTok to create and edit videos
Tried transitions in videos
Used Ai to create pictures
Video Assignments
I had to create 3 video assignments this week. For the first one I made a drawing tutorial in Draw a Flower in Minutes. The other 2 requires incorporating my character, so for one I made a book recommendation list video that has characters with similar personalities as Runa Starr called If You Like Runa Starr. For the final video I did a guide on how to cosplay as Runa Starr in How to Cosplay Runa Starr.
For this Daily Create I was supposed to make a collage of what I considered my safe haven. For me, its my home. Sleeping in my comfy bed, listening to music, and gaming with friends are the things that always makes me happy and brings me comfort when I am stressed. So for my collage I used Canva and got pictures of a cozy bed, headphones, and a Nintendo switch game console from Pinterest then put them over a cloud background with added graphics like music notes and a snoring thought bubble.
Accent Challenge
For this daily create I had to say, “There’s been a murder,” in a Scottish accent. For mine I tried to speak in a lower tone like the guy, but I don’t think my accent matches the description. I originally recorded it on my phone then I used SoundCloud to upload it for everyone to hear.
I’ve been talking about my character Runa Starr for the past weeks, so I stopped and wondered, what if she could actually come to life? Obviously that’s not possible but with guidance someone could definitely cosplay her. So I made a video guide on how to cosplay Runa Starr in seconds!
Reminder: Remember to unmute video to enjoy music and put it in full screen if that’s your preference!
This video was inspired by the assignment called How to Video. I chose to make a how to video on how to cosplay as my character Runa Starr. Originally I wanted to cosplay her myself but I didn’t have enough time to order everything required for her outfit, so instead I found pictures for her hair, makeup, and outfit on Pinterest so I could make a visual guide. For the final pictures of her cosplay I used Ai to make pictures similar to what she could possibly look like on Canva. All video editing was done on TikTok where I was able to create transitions for each picture, add in captions, and add the song called Me Myself And I by Bebe Rexha. The song was chosen mostly due to the confident lyrics singing about being independent which sounded like something Runa would say.
My character Runa Starr is a tactical genius with a tongue just as sharp. If you love headstrong female leads who kick butt without a second thought then I have the perfect book recommendations for you. In all these books Runa Starr shares very similar personalities to all the powerful women listed who shine throughout their stories.
Book Recommendations
Reminder: Make sure video isn’t muted to enjoy music, and make it full screen if that’s your preference!
BooksListed in Order:
Broken Throne by Victoria Aveyard
Ember in the Ashes series by Sabaa Tahir
Prisoner Throne by Holly Black
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
Empirium Series by Claire Legrand
Crescent City by Sarah Maas
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Video Process
This video was inspired by the assignment called Make a Top 10. It gave me the idea to list 10 characters who were similar to my character Runa Starr, but I wanted all my characters to come from the same type of media which is why I chose to do books since I read a lot and already knew many characters that fit her. For my video I chose to create it with TikTok since it has many editing options for me which helped a lot because I had a cool idea of trying to do transition shots for the first time by changing the books’ covers in the middle of the video by pausing and then replaying for each transition. I made my bookshelf the background since it fit the theme. Also the audio I chose was because I wanted a soundtrack that sounded powerful since the goal of my video is to recommend books with headstrong women. Lastly, I added the name of the characters and the books they’re from in front of each book to make it easier to recognize what I’m recommending.
Drawing is fun and a simple hobby that anyone can enjoy! Some like making more complex detailed art but I love simplistic drawings, so I today I will teach you step by step how to draw a cute flower! So grab a piece of paper and follow along.
Material Used
Paper
Pencil
Eraser
Blending stump (or use paper towel)
The Tutorial
Reminder: Make sure video isn’t muted to enjoy the music and if your prefer full screen then be sure to click the bigger size!
Video Process
This video was inspired by the assignment called Arts and Crafts Tutorial which said to make a step by step art tutorial. For my video I decided to create it using TikTok since I know it is common for creators to make tutorial videos on there. I recorded the video of me drawing the flower then added captions which originally was going to be in Spanish while my voiceover was supposed to be in English, but I decided to instead have English captions with peaceful music playing in the background.
When I first started this class I had simple goals like just becoming more experienced with using digital content since I am not very tech savvy, but I am very impressed by how much I have learned in only a few weeks. I was very surprised when I realized I have published 29 posts so far and almost each one includes a completely new skill I discovered from this class! I also want to include the knowledge I’ve gotten about the creative process like the use of cinematography, sound effects, and even the choices that go into the principles of design.
Throughout every assignment I was challenged to push myself and learn something new. So far I have learned how to use apps like Canva for creating and editing photos like in my post Wanted Dead or Alive; I made audio edits by layering sound effects to tell a story with Audacity like in my post Dysfunctional Family; and I learned how to edit videos using iMovie like in my post called Looking into Cyberpunk Edgerunners. Not to mention how to also use hyperlinks and create a website. Each one of these new discoveries took me about an hour or so just to figure out how to even use many of the apps but I think all my effort was worth it in the end because I think they show pretty well how much I have grown in experience.
Favorite Post
This is from the post called Wanted Dead or Alive where I made a high-tech inspired wanted poster and it was when I started getting more comfortable with creating and editing pictures with Canva. I personally love all the detail I put into it and it is what made me realize I was getting more comfortable with projects like this because I was becoming more experienced with them.
Hardest Post
This is from my post called Eye of the Hurricane which was supposed to tell a story of my character humming while walking past people battling unbothered. This was one of my hardest because it was my first time audio editing and I had to find and layer many sound effects to help tell the story which was a lot of work since I had no prior experience with Audacity. But I think it is a good example of when I challenged myself and thought the outcome was still good.
New Goals
Now that I have a lot more experience with using digital media like photo, video, and audio editing, I think my main goal now is becoming more comfortable and confident while doing it. I feel like I have many fun and cool ideas, but I am quick to doubt my capabilities of bringing my creations to life in a good enough way that it matches how I imagined it. But I do want to point out that I surprised myself each week at the sight of my finished creations, so if I learn to trust myself more then I think I will take bigger risks.
This was video week and I was very nervous because I have no experience editing videos, so this week was all about learning and trying to figure out how everything works so that my edited video would come out right especially with making sure the narration was over the correct scenes. More information on my video editing experience can be found on my post called Looking into Cyberpunk Edgerunners
For this Daily Create I was supposed to take a famous landmark and place it somewhere it shouldn’t be. For mine I decided to bring the East coast to the West coast by taking the Statue of Liberty and placing it next to the famous Hollywood sign using Canva.
People Watching
For this Daily Create I was supposed to create a backstory for why a plate of bananas appear on a Beeston street once a month. For mine I chose to write an explanation based on the idea that animals now enjoy people watching similar to how people enjoy bird watching so that’s why they’re leaving a plate of bananas out to lure in humans.
Cyberpunk Edgerunners is a wonderful playground for cinematography. There’s so many amazing scenes I could go into deep detail for, but the one that I couldn’t resist choosing was Maine’s death scene from episode 6 called Girl on Fire. The episode shows how Maine is struggling with Cyberpsychosis, but him and his crew must continue the mission as he gets worse and starts losing control after his girlfriend was killed. Once Maine accepts that its the end for him, he sacrifices himself while the main character David tries to help. Here in my video, I go in a deeper dive into the cinematics of this unforgettable scene.
Video Process
Editing a video for the first time was more complicated than I originally thought. I had to find the exact scene from Cyberpunk Edgerunners I wanted in a good enough length then I had to learn how to use iMovie to edit in the narration of my voice before uploading it to Vimeo. When I was doing my analysis of the scene I originally had a long descriptive script to voice over it, but I couldn’t keep up with the exact shots I wanted to talk about, so instead I chose to say the main points that drove each scene like the fear in certain expressions or how certain shots portrayed foreshadowing that an intense fight scene was approaching. I wanted to keep the original audio alongside my voice with it, but I thought it might be too distracting so instead I kept only my narration for the scene.
Cyberpunk Edgerunner Cinematography Overview:
Lighting: Most of the grim scenes use dark lighting with harsh colors like red lining on faces and bodies to set the tone. In the gentle scenes where Maine feels at peace, it is sunny in an open field without the use of any dark color schemes.
Angles: The shots chosen are taken from very specific angles depending on the emotion used like David’s fear always being full face or the focus being on his trembling hands while holding a gun. Also in most scenes they are capable of making Maine look overpowered from his cyberpyschosis by using low angles where he’s towering above.
Expressions: Throughout the entire scene emotion is used very well from eyes widening and trembling from fear and shock, or Maine’s eyes softening as he understands this is the end for him. Shots showing sweat, tears, and even the shot of David’s pained scream at seeing Maine die tells how the characters are feeling even without the audio to hear their dialogue.
Camera Shots: They use various shots to build up suspense like showing how MaxTac is on their way with shots of the aircraft landing or the soldiers heading in. I also think the use of switching between Maine’s hallucination perspective of him being peacefully in a field while David sees the grim reality of their situation helps the viewers understand that Maine is accepting death. Lastly, I wanna add that the final shots being in slow motion makes the viewers feel the impact of everything happening before the shot of his death.
This week was a bit rough but interesting. I have literally no experience editing sound so everything was a long learning process. My audio creations I think came out alright though and I enjoyed seeing the finished version of each one including my radio bumper. So in general I think I am now more comfortable doing basic level audio editing with sound effects, but I wouldn’t trust myself completing anything too long without making mistakes.
Learned how to make an Ai generated voice on Canva
Daily Creates
This week required making 3 Daily creates. All of them allowed me to be creative and make something using Canva, traditional art, and just my creativity for the last one which was a poem. All of them can be found on the post called Inside My Creative Mind.
Assignment Bank
For audio week I made 2 creations and also a sound effect story that required editing with sound effects. For Celeste City I created how I imagined what the place would sound like. For Dysfunctional Home I tried to replicate what a kid hears in a home that has a lot of family drama. For The Eye of the Hurricane I tried to tell the story of my character Runa on a mission.
Audio Reflection
This week I learned about how sound effects can have a big impact on storytelling. I talk more about this in my post called the Power of Sound where I discuss how Moon Graffiti and also the ds106radio’s story of Limetown was able to successfully use sound effects. In it I also showed the Radio Bumper I created.
Radio Show Ideas
I had two fun ideas for a radio show for my character Runa Starr. They can be found on my post called Mission: Probably Impossible
WARNING: Huge Spoilers ahead!