We create a lot of content as video emphasis students, from commercials to short films to documentaries. So, for my last hoorah, I wanted to make something different: a process video designing a sticker based on my favorite fairy tale. The goal was to create a higher quality YouTube video that would show off my writing and storytelling while combining several things I love: fairytales, graphic design, storytelling, and my family.
My goal is to go into marketing as a videographer and video editor, so having this showcase of my storytelling and video production skills (as well as a completely different style of video) helps to round out my portfolio and gives me options to showcase if I decide to pivot into a different industry.
I also completed the project completely solo as director, actor, editor, and designer. As such, there were some major challenges to overcome.
The Concept/Look
I always wanted to be on camera for this project to help it stand out from mass produced video essays and process videos. This would also help me include my videography skills in the project. I took inspiration from Youtubers like Lizard Leigh, who creates Pokémon cosplay videos while analyzing the games and shows that inspire their work, or Jess Less whose videos are about making 3-D models of props, buildings, and characters from her favorite Youtube series.
Originally, inspired by these Youtube Channels, I was going to film in my apartment. However, as filming got closer and closer, I decided I needed to up the ante and go to the great outdoors to better match the fairytale I was describing.
Here’s that camera set-up:
The best part of the showcase was watching people’s reactions to this decision. Several people took a step back with an audible “woah” when they joined partway through the video to see the timelapse cut back to me, something unexpected for this style of video.
Filming Solo
The Script
There were some pretty big decisions made in pre-production to make this shoot possible. For one, I didn’t have a word-for-word script for this. From a practical standpoint: I’m nearsighted, so I couldn’t tape up a script and the teleprompters I had access to were difficult for me to read from. 13 minutes of narration was also unreasonable for me to memorize, and I wanted the audio to sound natural and personable. This is difficult to achieve as someone with little to no acting training, so instead of having a direct script for this project, it was an outline of points. In other words, I filmed this closer to an interview of myself about the project rather than a traditional video essay.
The Camera
It is a simple law of the universe that you can’t be in two places at once. As such, I had to figure out how to focus the camera without seeing my subject (me). The solution was simple, place an extra light stand where I was sitting and adjust until it was crystal clear.
I also used an external monitor to be able to monitor the shot while on camera and adjust if needed.
For some of the b-roll shots I enlisted the help of my youngest brother, Dylan, to act for me. The first shot is of him and me together walking through the woods. As you might imagine, including a family member in this project that ended up being about family was very poignant to me.
What I Learned
There were a lot of moving parts for this project and three separate threads I needed to weave together in the edit: the sticker design, the fairy tale, and the real life application. Getting the right balance really challenged my skills and helped me understand pacing in a longer form video. It took reshoots and edits and re-edits to get everything where it needed to be in order to make sense and to stay interesting.
I knew I had succeeded when my little brother, Jacob, told me that he watched the whole video without speeding it up or skipping anything.
Would I Do Anything Differently?
Yes. The first thing I would change is the sticker design itself. While I love the sticker, I wish I had tweaked the colors to work better together and the silhouette to read better as a dagger (rather than a sword). I also would have made the text darker and easier to read.
I also would have been a little more thorough in pre-production to give myself a more detailed outline to go off of while on camera. This would have fixed a lot of issues I had in the edit before they became a problem even if, at the time, I didn’t know how detailed I needed to be in my notes.
Conclusion
I loved this project so much that I want to make more videos in this format, fine tuning it even more and introducing niche fairy tales to a wider audience.
However, the #1 thing I learned from this entire project is that I need to find some better bug spray.