This short video follows Chris as he reflects over the course of a week about his drug abuse. Essentially burnt out from his lifestyle, Chris hopes these rec...
The video linked here is a short video production inspired by my first cousin, who finds himself in a similar predicament to Chris, the central and only character in the film. Essentially an amateur documentation of a week in the life of a drug addict, 7 days follows the tittle character Chris' week in short vignettes that show us what he's thinking and how's he's feeling.
Prior to this production my experience and skills were still fundamental and inconsistent, I had used various software in the past to create video projects mostly for academic purpose. Chief among these were iMovie and before that Windows Movie Maker, amateur tools that can produce decent productions but nothing comparable to Adobe software and final cut pro standards.
This production was solely created by myself. In my proposal I set out to make a film that would juxtapose real life violence with the violent video game: Mortal Kombat. But as I finished filming I found myself unable to create the short film I set out to make, instead finding myself creating an obnoxious amateur music video that didn't really make any poignant point about what I wished to say. The concept was there but the execution was lacking. From there I decided to go simpler, more effective-more didactic but no less effective in message.
I ditched the Sony HD Handheld cam, turned three actors into one and started rolling on the iPhone 5. After filming short vignettes over the course of the day, I uploaded the clips into sequential order and used iMovie to add the transitions that would give this piece coherence.
The most difficult part was gaining the insight needed to make the film. A short trip to Lithgow on Wednesday where my cousin, the inspiration for this piece, lives. Taking notes of what he said as I interviewed him, I incorporated his words into the work you see here. Aside from the that filming was fairly simple, wardrobe changes and little aesthetics were set accordingly and the only issue was having to do multiple takes, I'm certainly no actor and it shows.
"What did you learn about digital media production by attempting this project?"
I think the most important lesson here is how powerful contemporary digital media channels are. Without spending any real money, I was able to create this piece using my phone as the sole recording equipment and my computer as the editing unit. Youtube provides a free avenue in which to display my work to a potentially infinite audience. This is something that was impossible 20 years ago, as we had neither the internet as we know it, nor powerful consumer grade computers that could edit and finalise video production.
"How did this learning align with your understanding of the emerging narrative forms possible in digital media production?"
I think it's important to acknowledge that with the way things are now, everyone and anyone can engage in digital storytelling. With avenues like youtube, storify, facebook and audioboo. It truly costs only creativity to create a good digital story. If anything the amateur video producer has only become more powerful with technology that surpasses old bootleg styles recordings and distribution tools that allow for international audience at no cost.
This project has truly driven home just how powerful and connected the modern information exchange has become.
It's been a blast, thanks for reading.
Regards, York
