Time-Based Instructions
Mastering the Skill (10/15/19)
The task I got for my video project is to teach people how to make a balloon dog. Although I’ve learned how to create a balloon dog before, I was not sure that what I used to know was accurate. Therefore, I watched a youtube video that taught the technique in a simple yet effective matter.
Basic instructions based on the video and my own experimentation:
____________________ Inflating the Balloon ____________________
- Blow the balloon up with a pump and leave a two inch tail at the end
- Let the balloon naturally inflate and do not over-inflate the balloon
- Let out two inches of air to create a longer rubber band and tie a knot
____________________ Creating the Head ____________________
- Start from the knotted end of the balloon
- Measure three inches and twist the balloon around three times
- Hold onto the previous part and move on to twist the next part
- Repeat and twist two sections that are both two inches long
- Perform a lock twist that grabs both segments and twists it together
____________________ Creating the Body ____________________
- Measure three inches and perform the basic twist
- Repeat and twist two sections that are both three inches long
- Perform a lock twist with the latter two segments
- Repeat steps one to three to make the hind legs
To truly master the skill, I needed to practice over and over again to ensure that all the steps I take are correct and all the moves can be completed smoothly. I made a lot of balloon iterations but all of them varied in shape and size, thus I needed to make even more to get a consistent product.
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Watching Example Clips (10/17/19)
Our professor showed us a collection of good and bad video examples during class. Some were realistic footage whereas some were animations, but all the videos told a story. The videos can be grouped according to their similar use of techniques that accentuated the story telling process.
Since each video was different, each of them had advantageous and disadvantageous depending on the choices that the filmmakers made. Apart from the observations above, I wrote down a few other key aspects to keep in mind while creating my own video project.
- Audio: ambient noise should be carefully controlled to have minimum background noise and clear audio of the action performed
- Point of View: the angle that I shoot my video should be chosen with purpose that keeps in mind of my audience
- Transitions: the change between clips should not be abrupt and should be comfortable for viewers to follow through
- Mood: how the audience feels when watching the video should be considered and should also be based on the content of the video
- Don’t Cover: make sure that body parts to not cover the central subject of the video to ensure the clarity of instructions
Next we watched specific instructional videos on YouTube. Unlike the professional ads and films, these clips were made by ordinary people who would like to share their expertise. Although they may be skilled at their project, their clips had problems communicating the information.
Background: The environment is not recommended for shooting a video as the sunlight directly hits him and creates an intense warm glow. There are also many distracting elements in the back such as the table tennis table. We need less of him and the background and more of the wheel itself.
Figure: His gear may suggest that he is a professional biker who knows what he is handling, however, it is extremely bright and distracting and moves our focus to him rather than the bike wheel. He is also wearing sunglasses and incites our curiosity with regards to his face.
Verbal: The man talks in a very colloquial way, which is typically liked, but it is not as appropriate for an instructional video that aims to teach the audience about a specific skill. It takes a long time for him to actually demonstrate the wheel and the audience loses patience to watch.
Physical: It was hard to see what the man was doing because his hand blocked the tool sometimes. If he situated the bike in a diagonal direction, it would’ve clarified his actions. Or, he could change the point of view of the camera so that his hands did not block the focused area.
Background: In this video, the environment was much cleaner with the absence of any additional unrelated objects. The wheel truer is on a white platform that brings out the object through the contrast of colors. The creator even layered a white piece of paper for the clarity of the wheel edge.
Figure: The man that demonstrates the action does not appear in this video. He does not attract the audience’s attention and allows them to focus on the wheel. His hands do appear to show the actions but it is not distracting and instead clarifies what should be done.
Verbal: The audio of this video should be louder and clearer for the audience to easily understand the content. The man mumbles at some points in the video and it took a lot of concentration to hear what he was saying. Better audio would lead to clearer instructions.
Physical: Although we can clearly see the wheel, it was hard to see what he was doing with his hands. The actions were concentrated at the top of the video and the bike blocked part of his hands. If the camera was adjusted to the side, the point of view would allow the audience to see his hands.
Background: Although there isn’t a lot of distracting objects in the background, the table top has an extremely complex pattern that heavily strains the audience’s eye. It is hard to focus on the specific object when there is a chaotic background pattern.
Figure: Throughout the video, only the man’s arms are featured. It brings focus to the actions he is doing and the objects that are being performed on. We can see a little bit of his body but it is not a major concern as it does not veer our attention away.
Verbal: It is hard to judge whether the extremely humorous opening soundtrack contributes or detracts from the video. It technically does not interfere with the instructions but it makes the video seem less professional. His instructions during the making process was nice and clear though.
Physical: Since the camera was on the side, his arm blocked a big portion of the frame at certain points in the video. However, I could see the objects and his movements in general. The shaky footage of him putting the mixture into the oven made it really hard to see that portion of the video.
Background: The background changes in the middle of the video. It is reasonable in this context because he took the second part of the footage on another day and it hints how long it takes to wait for the mixture. However, it is unadvised in general to ensure the consistency of the video.
Figure: The torso of the man can be seen in the video but the head and the legs are not visible. It is a good idea so the audience does not focus on the his facial expression and other unnecessary parts. His dark plain colored shirt is also a good choice as it blends him into the background.
Verbal: His verbal instructions are very clear and audible, which helps give context and explanation. The audience can easily understand what he is doing and follow along his words. His colloquial tone does not detract from the clarity of his instructions.
Physical: The angle of the camera is great as we can see the whole view from a higher perspective. However, his actions decreases our confidence in his video because he spills flour on the table when he did not intend to do so. This makes us doubt whether he is an expert at what he is doing.
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Taking Images of the Process (10/22/19)
I took photographs to record each significant part of my process. After watching all of the videos, I was very aware of my composition so I deliberately chose a white wall and only featured my hands, centering the object and the action in the middle of the frame.
I directed my friend to stand in front of the wall and press the shutter on the camera. It was hard for me to demonstrate the actions without blocking the balloon, I had to plaster myself against the wall with my arm twisted in an odd angle. It’s a relief that the frame cuts off my arms.
Since making balloon dogs was a process that advanced in stages, it was easier to portray the process with photographs compared to many other tasks. The only part that is unclear is the twisting process. The audience would not know the twisting motion and the number of twists each time.
I really enjoyed the orange color of the balloon dog that stood out from the white background but was not distinct to the point that it strained the audience’s eyes. Also, orange is quite a natural color for animal fur, especially dogs, which creates a sense of playfulness and liveliness.
With these photographs, I realized that I should be aware of my sleeves and be consistent about showing them or not. In addition, I should not stand to the left when I film my real footage because my actions would not be very smooth due to the movement limitations.
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Creating a Storyboard (10/24/19)
With the pictures I’ve taken, I printed, cut and organized them into a long strip in a storyboard format. From left to right, the images are placed in sequence and show the progression of the balloon dog. I believe that fifteen images is a sufficient amount to clearly demonstrate my process.
During class, the balloon dog and juggling group met together along with our professors to critique all of our story boards. The balloon dog group seemed to be having an easier time of “teaching” rather than “showing. Nonetheless, all of us had specific areas to improve on:
- don’t obscure objects with your hands and or other objects
- know where to place your hands and its effect on the composition
- show proportions and measurements of the balloon sections
- clean the background and get rid of distracting objects
- making a mistake in the process loses credibility
- audience do catch the little inconsistencies and they mean a lot
- show pinching for measurements
- there should be no distracting or identifying accessories on the arm
- can choose to wear gloves to conceal hands
- be aware and fix all rough and awkward transitions
Personally, I had to focus on getting rid of distractive elements and keeping the frames consistent throughout, specifically referring to my sleeve. I also should show proportions and measurements of the balloon sections so the audience can have an idea of how long each section is.
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Filming Clips of the Process (10/29/19)
To create my first draft, I filmed multiple takes because it was really easy for me to do something wrong when I was filming. It took a lot of tries to ensure that my movements are within the frame, that my actions took around the same amount of time, that my hands did not obscure the object.
It was hard to find a suitable place to shoot my video. Without being aware that the photo studio downstairs was available for first years, I went around CFA to find for an open room with white walls and ended up in an empty lecture hall in Posner Hall.
Even at night the room had relatively adequate lighting and the walls were not tinted with other shades. It was a quiet space with tables for me to set up my tripod and camera on. With reasonable lighting, limited audio and all the necessary utilities, I decided to film all my videos here.
The ambient noise in the clips are quite clear and there is very minimal background noise. The twisting sound of the balloon is very distinct and gives the audience a sense of what the correct process should sound like. There is no sign of people talking and no audio distractions at all.
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Draft Videos (10/31/19)
Splicing the videos was much harder than I expected. Although all I needed to do was keep the necessary parts and delete the unnecessary parts to save time, it was hard to decide what to keep and what to omit. In addition, creating a smooth transition was hard due to the minor difference in clips.
My first video way exceeded the time limit of the required 60 seconds. Although I tried to incorporate only the most significant parts of my demonstration, it felt like there were so many things that I needed to show for the audience to really understand what I’m doing.
To satisfy the time limit, I made multiple changes to my video. First I increased the speed to x2 for the beginning portion where I blow and tie the balloon. Although speeding up the video is not allowed, I did it in my draft stage to remind myself that I can do these actions faster in my next one.
I spliced away all the basic twisting motions apart from the first twist, but kept all the lock twist footage. The first basic twist is demonstrated very slowly for the audience to clearly see. I assumed that the audience would understand how to perform a basic twist after watching the first one.
Hence, the majority of my edited video was me showing a measurement and then the video fast forwards to an already twisted section. I kept the lock twists because there are only three, which did not take up too much time, and they were more complicated to perform so repetition is necessary.
One of my peers said that my transitions are rough and that I should slow down at the places where I show the length of the section. In addition, he suggested that I should incorporate the process of twisting the balloons because it would be confusing for people who have never done it before.
He could tell that my abrupt transitions are due to the fact that I have no time to show the twisting motions or to stop when I’m demonstrating the length. Thus, he suggested that I have to complete my actions faster so I can save time to show other significant instructions.
I asked him whether my point of view is suitable because a first-hand experience view that only featured my hands seemed more effective. It would be easier for the audience to follow the steps since they can mimic the exact same actions as shown in the video.
He told me that he actually liked the fact my point of view because it allowed me to fit the whole balloon in the frame. The problem with a first-hand view was that the audience could only see sections of the balloon and they would be confused about which part of the balloon they’re working on.
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Final Video (11/05/19)
General steps I took to create my final video:
- Filmed the video in various takes at Posner Hall
- Spliced the video in iMovie and smoothed the transitions
- Changed the aspect ratio of the clip in Adobe Premiere Pro
For the final video, I decided to change my apparel into all white so that the contrast between the white shirt and black pant does not clash against each other and distract the viewer. In addition, I covered as much of my skin as possible to keep the background consistent.
After many more practices in front the camera, I’ve become less nervous performing the act of making a balloon dog. Thus, my actions were much more clear-cut and looked more professional. It gives the video more credibility and the audience would believe in my instructions.
I decided to keep the point of view the same as before, standing in front of the screen and performing the act. I value the overall view that it provides, which gives more context to the audience. Since there is a distance between me and the camera, the balloon twists do not sound as loud and harsh.
I reviewed the requirements to make sure I satisfied all of them:
- 60 seconds or less
- no digital editing apart from splicing
- has original ambient sound (no narration/text/graphics)
- 1024 x 768 pixels (horizontal with black bars allowed)
- saved as mov. or mp4.
Key takeaways from this project:
- logistics can be hard to coordinate so definitely plan ahead
- it is necessary to consult a lot of different voices
- nothing is perfect and I just have to accept the best of what I’ve done
- body language can communicate a lot without narration
- consider other people’s opinions but do what I think is right
- to be an expert at a skill it is true that practice makes perfect
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