Modified Version of Project 3

Reflection

Process :: Read back through your pre-production, production, and post-production journaling and identify what were, for you, key moments in your process. Write about how these key moments, experiences, choices led you to your finished piece.

The first key moment is the brainstorming stage, the process that I decide my topic and theme. It is really difficult to come up a good topic, since I need to consider many things such as “how to present the topic using footages?” “Can I find someone to interview?” “Can I collect those footages I want using the resources I have?” etc. Originally, I thought about “Hope” “Friend”and etc, but these topics are all to board and difficult to narrow it down. Finally, I decide to do cooking.

The second key moment is to think about how to convey the idea/theme through video footages. Originally, I want to divide my video into three parts, one is at restaurant, one is at home, another one is at cafe. Later I changed my idea because many restaurants and cafes don’t allow me to get access into their kitchen. So I divide my video into two parts, one is at a Japanese restaurant has Hibachi (cooking in front of guests), another one is at home. Through these footages, I want to tell the audiences that regardless of professional or unprofessional, cooking is a mean to sharing, a way to express love, a spirit of giving.

Another key moment is the shooting process. During this process, I need to make a good use of the video camera, tripod, audio recorder and so on to make the footages look nice and coherent, and to make the audio sounds clear.

The last key moment is the editing process, which is an extreme long process. I spend a whole afternoon and a whole night on the video. I need to pick the 6 minutes video from nearly 50 minutes footages I got. Combining the footages together is not a easy job. I need to make them look natural and coherent. I need to add music, interview audio, and adjust the volume of the sounds.

Feedback :: How do you feel about the feedback you got on your video? As you gave feedback to other students, what things did you notice in your classmates’ works? What were the most helpful and influential kinds of feedback that you got, gave, or heard others give?

The feedbacks are really great and I really appreciate of having people commenting on my piece. It is a really motivating moment that people appreciate and complement your work. Also, I received some valuable critiques that I need to improve and make changes. For example, I can make my theme to be more clear by adding some words/subtitles before or after the body part of the video.

Also, watching other students’ work is a great experience for me to learn something new. Some of my classmates make a great use of the camera, the color of the video, asked some great questions, used great structures to organize the video, and etc. These are all valuable things that I can use in the future.
Self-reflection :: What did you learn about yourself (the way you prefer to work, how you tackle problems, deal with uncertainty, synthesize information, etc.) during this project?

I feel I did a greater job than the second video. This time, I try to divide my video into two parts and use two different story lines to present my theme. Also, I tried to make my video to be more interesting (for the last one, I feel it’s too boring). Also, this time I used a tripod for everything I shoot, to get higher quality footages. This time, I planned a lot before I go out for shooting, and I think about what footages I want exactly to avoid of shooting excess amount of footages.
Future :: Your finished project is a text, a rhetorical gesture, a cultural production. Are there other audiences beyond your classmates for your work? Where else can you imagine screening/sharing this video?How and what kinds of conversations could your video start or contribute to?

I showed my roommates, the chef in the restaurant my video. They really like it. I can show my other friends this video to show how a project looks like in this class because many of my friends and classmates really like this class and want to take it in the future. Through watching this video, people may want to go to the Japanese restaurant I introduced in the video. Also, people may start making food for other people, and also for themselves. I feel cooking is really a good way to relax, to share love with other people.
Final Question :: Is there anything else you would like to write about that pertains to your process during this project? Something that your instructor or classmates didn’t ask? If so, please write about it now…

During the production process of this video, or even this entire course, I learned a lot. First of all, my planning and organizing skills are greatly improved. I learn to organize everything in my head before doing them. Another thing I learned is to use video, tripod, editing softwares, audio editing softwares, and etc. It is a very valuable and important skill for me to have since I may use them in the future in my life. Also, this course enhanced my ability to communicate with people, people who you don’t know or unfamiliar with. Originally, I feel extremely difficult to talk to strangers, not even interviewing them. Now I can communicate better with people I don’t know and corporate with them.

This I Believe – Cooking

On the NO-CLASS Day

Since there is no class today, I got the chance to take bus to downtown champaign and visit a Japanese restaurant there named Oishi. They offers a special Japanese cooking style named Hibachi. Typically, the chef cook in front of the guests on a metal stove. It is easier for to shoot footages since everything is visible. I was not allowed to go the kitchen of most of the restaurant here. The Hibachi cooking process is very interesting and interactive. I really like those footages and I will continue editing them when I am back home.

Post-production Journal

Reflection :: How do you feel now that you have some of your footage? What did you learn during the process of shooting? Did you have any happy accidents, discoveries, tragedies, or surprises? If you were to go back and do it again, what would you have done differently?

I am pretty satisfied with my footages until now even though I haven’t collected enough of them yet. I went to several restaurants before and they didn’t agree to let me enter their kitchen since they are not allowed to do so. I was worried about where I should go to collect my footages, then I come up with the idea that I can went to a Japanese restaurant located in downtown Champaign that offers HIBACHI. Hibachi is a Japanese style cooking method that use a open metal stove that is visible to all people. The chef just cook in front of the customers and at the same time interact with them. During the shooting process, I realized it is particularly important to have a tripod while shooting since it will make the footages look much better and smooth without shaking. Since I went to the restaurants a little bit late during lunch time. There were not many people there most of my footages were about the cooking process instead of the guests. I feel I should capture more facial expressions of the guest. One thing I am glad and surprised is that the chef used many different tricks to many the cooking process to be more interesting, so the footages will looks more attractive and eye catching. However, since the chef is very busy and do not have that much time to talk to me. I just ask him several questions and the background is a little bit noisy.

What Do You Have? :: Log your shots (review your raw footage and make rough notes). Make a list USABLE material and KILL material. For the useable material, name and note the chunks of video that include themes, ideas, or visually interesting material. For the kill material (not useable), make brief notation of why these shots are not pertinent or successful.

I shoot lots of footages of the cooking process and I need to pick some of them that are more attracting and interesting and can reflect the theme. Some useable footages include the tricks that the chef played such as firing. The process of cooking noodles, fried rice, salmon, chicken, steak, and so on. Other important footages include the facial expressions of the customers and the chef. Smiling is a particular important footage since it delivers the idea that cooking is bringing people happiness. I want to cut those repetitive and redundant cooking processes. Audience may feel tired of watching the similar stuff all the time.

What Can You Say? :: What can you say with the material you have? Take a moment to consider the possible difference between what you intended and what you actually recorded. Take a few minutes to improvise three different paper edits based on the footage you have. Write notations and descriptions of each of these edits. Use your notes to help you decide which of the three ideas is the most interesting to pursue.

I feel I still have much less materials than I originally planned. I will keep on collecting more in the following days. What I actually collected is similar to what I planned but due to the fact that I do not have access to most of the kitchen in restaurants. The variety of the footages is limited. I am trying to come up with more.

Reshoots :: Is there anything else you need for this video? If so, make another detailed shot list. Make notes on how you intend to shoot and what you want to get from each of these additional shots.

I have been thinking about how to come up with a good starting and ending footage. I am thinking about borrowing a cooking book from the library. I will start the video by flipping the first page of the book and also end it with the same way. Thus I can avoid having a random starting and ending scene. Also, I want to collect more B roll footages on various kinds of restaurants and chefs to better reflect my theme.

Evolution :: How has your project evolved so far? How have your ideas changed from your initial inspiration?

Originally, I set my theme to be cooking brings people happiness. Later I defined it to be more specific: cooking is not only making food. It is also about sharing, love, and interacting. Other things did not change much.  Things are getting more and more clear as the shooting progressed. All I need to do now is editing, combine the footages together, add musics and subtitles, and so on.

Timeline :: What do you need to get done in order to assemble a rough cut/draft (be specific)? Show your rough cut to a few classmates or other peers. Take notes on this feedback. Make additional drafts, keep getting feedback and taking notes on what you need to do next, until you arrive at what feels like a final draft / completed piece.

I need to first have a rough idea about the structure of my video such as what to go first and later. Then I need to carefully go through each footages I took so far and decide what to discard and what to keep. After that I need to combine them together to form a rough video. Then I will start working on audio, transitions, subtitles, music, light, and so on to reach the final project.

Warm-up writing 11/28

writing warm-up: where did you grow up? try to describe the character of the place to someone who has probably never been there.

I grow up in a very beautiful city named Suzhou, which is a very old city with history of more than 2500 years. It has lots of famous landmarks such as the classic gardens and small rivers. The central part of the city is protected and remains its old style. The area I live is relative more developed and morden style. However, people here usually do not live in houses due to the huge amount of population. We live in apartments with about 20 or 30 floors. In recent years, lots of foreigners come here for their jobs and the population here is getting more and more diverse. There are lots of famous places of interest in the city so every year a large number of tourists visite here.

In-class writing 11/26

in class writing: write about one time in which something you said, did, wrote, created or believed was misunderstood by others. what were the consequences? what caused this situation? did you make any attempts to resolve this conflict?

Last week I went to Chicago during the Thanksgiving break. I took the greyhound bus there and it drove me to the greyhound station located at Harrison street in Chicago. After getting out of the bus station, I got onto a taxi and asked the driver to send me to my hotel. I told the driver the name of my hotel and he didn’t ask for any further information. Unfortunately, he sent me to the right hotel name but a wrong location. Then he drove me to the right address again which took us lots of time. I believe this situation was mainly caused by the lack of communication after I got on the taxi. The driver was a spanish guy and I cannot totally understand what he was saying due to the accent. Also, he should confirm the address with me before leaving. This conflict was resolved after I told him the correct address.

Production Stage (shoot, collect, research, inscribe)

Authorship ::

What role will you, as the author/creator, play in the video? Will you narrate, ask questions from behind the camera, be a character in the video, remove your presence entirely, or use a combination of these approaches? What strategies will best allow you to convey your message?

I will split my whole video into three sub parts. One is at home, one is in restaurant, one is in cafe. For each subpart, I will interview the character who is cooking and I will not show up in the footages. I will ask the character about their feeling and thoughts while they are cooking to reflect on the theme I want to present to the audience. By shooting different small stories, I want to emphasis that it is not only about making food, it is also about love, sharing, giving, and appreciation.

Content ::

What information do you want, or need, to include in the video? What background information will an audience need in order to understand your topic? What kinds of questions and conversations will get you the information you seek? If applicable, make a list of interview questions that may help you draw out information from your subject.

Audience does not necessarily need to have any particular background info in order to understand my video. People eat and cook everyday, but few of them ever try to think about the chef and the process of food preparation. I also want to include some interview footages to better convey my topic and theme.

1. Do you usually cook for yourself? How many times a week?
2. What kind of food/dishes do you usually cook？
3. Do you cook only for yourself or also for other people?
4. What do you feel while cooking? What kind of feeling can cooking brings you?
5. Do you always think about the chef when you eat in the restaurant?
6. Do you think we should be thankful, grateful, and appreciating when eating?
7. What can you think of when you are cooking for other people?
8. What life principle does cooking help you to understand?

Shots ::

Make a detailed list of shots you absolutely NEED for the video, and another of shots that you also WANT for the video. This list should include where you intend to shoot, how you intend to shoot (close up- far away, panning, tripod, hand-held, etc), and what you hope to get from these shots.

NEED: I want to use tripod for most of the project to ensure the quality and avoid the shaking of the footages. The first subpart of the video is about a normal student’s cooking in everyday life. I will start with the footages of buying raw food in the supermarket, the preparation process after getting back home(such as cutting and washing), and the actual cooking process. I also want to include the footages that one person prepares food for another one, so I may ask the person who cooks to write a lovely memo and stick that on the plate. I will go to the restaurant and negotiate with the chef there to shoot some footages of the cooking process. These footages will be produced by using tripods.

WANT: I also want to get some footages of the facial expressions when people order and receive food. The collection of these footages might be a little difficult because some people will feel nervous while facing the camera.
Anxieties and Obstacles ::

Look back through your responses to the three writing prompts above and think through any obstacles or anxieties you have about your production plan. Write them down. Brainstorm possible alternative plans.

Some restaurant owners may not allow me to shoot the process of cooking because they feel these should be confidential. Also they may not allow me to shoot footages of their guests because that will scare the guests. Personally, I knew a restaurant owner and I may ask her for help. Another obstacle is to get the right people to interview. It will take me lots of time to get the footages I want.

Pre-production

Topic

Describe the topic of your video. Can you write a descriptive paragraph? How did you come up with the idea, why is it interesting to you, why do you want to pursue this?

I have come up with many different topics such as friendship, hope, and so on, but I feel those topics are too big and difficult to narrow it down. Then I think of the theme of cooking. I found this topic interesting and attractive because I love cooking, not only make traditional dishes or sandwiches, also dessert. I am not a good chef, but I found that cooking can make me happy and relaxed. When I feel stressful or blue, I will go make myself a piece of brownie, or little cupcake. Then I can always feel a sense of felicity and everything obsessing me fade away. Also, cooking is not only for one person. It also brings a happiness of sharing and giving. I want people to realize that when they go to restaurant and order food, they should always be thankful and grateful.

Character

Who do you envision being in your video? Do you have specific people in mind? If so write a little bit about who they are and why you want to include them. If your ideas are less specific, describe the kinds of people you hope to include in your video –– what ages, genders, nationalities, personalities, etc. do you envision?

I want to divide my video into several subparts. In each subpart, I will include one person and his/her story about cooking. For example, I might include my roommate and the footage that she is cooking herself. Also, I want to include a chef, who always cook in the kitchen that cannot be seen by the customer. Also, I may go to a cafe in champaign and get some footages of baking/desert making.

Locations

What locations do think would be desirable for your video and best suit your topic? Do you envision shooting more than one location? Will you require special permission or equipment –– microphones, a tripod?

I will use the tripod to ensure a better quality of my footages. One location will be at home, where can best reflect the life of a normal person. Another location I want to include is the restaurant. The third location I want to include is a cafe. These three locations are totally different, but they are all related with food and cooking. I want to reflect different ideas through these different stories and locations.

B-roll

Think about your topic for a few moments and make a list of b-roll (secondary, supporting) footage that you would like to collect for your project. What will provide visual evidence for your video? You might think about places, actions, symbolic or metaphorical imagery, or photographs. What kinds of footage do you need to help the audience experience and understand the narrative?

Most of my B-roll will be about cooking, the process of making food. These footages not necessarily have to be about very complicated cooking processes. They can be simply cooking an egg, making an sandwich, baking a small piece of brownie. I will start from the preparation process, the food ordering sense, the process that the order is sent back to the kitchen, the chef prepare the raw material, cooking, putting the food on plates, serving, and customer eating. I will focus more on people’s facial expressions, such as smile when customers receive food and the expression while cooking.

Take away

What is your message? Do you have a point of view? At the end of your video, what do you want the audience to understand, feel, or contemplate?

The message that I want to send to the audience is that cooking is a way of learning. It can bring people happiness. Cooking is not about just one person; can bring people together. It can teach people to be thankful, grateful and people should learn to sharing, giving, and appreciating. There are many different things we can learn from cooking and it is not just about making food to eat. Everyone may have different thoughts and reflects from cooking.

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence Write-up

Compare and contrast the themes and approaches to creating an argument in each piece. some things to think about or respond to: In a 100% system, what percentage would you give to entertainment and information to this film?  Is this a film, or is it a document of a power point presentation? Does this film motivate you to take action?  Why?  What points in paticular inspired you? Think about the structure of the argument, what are the merits and downfalls of using this type of structure.

The first piece’s argument is that people should protect the environment to stay away from the global warming problem. The video shows how serious the global warming issue is and the negative effects it has brought and could bring to human beings. I would say the entertainment is about 60% and information is about 70%. It is a powerpoint presentation, including lots of graphs, pictures, and short footages. This presentation is really motivative since it is convincing, authoritative, and interesting. The presenter talks about the CO2 concentration in the coming 50 years, which is the most inspiring part to me. Through this, I can visualize the problem pretty clearly. For this video/presentation, the argument is clearly stated and strong.

The second piece is about water contamination. It is more like a documentary video and the argument is that the water quality is becoming a problem that should needs people’s attention. I  would give 20% of entertainment and 50% of information. This video, compare to the previous one, is not that convincing and motivative since it does not provide much visualization, such as statistics and so on. The most inspiring part is that the water on fire scene. This piece looks more natural and not very structured compare to the first one.