Video Essay: “Ball Park”
The video essay was a great project to start the year off on. It really gave us a lot of room for creativity and the ability to make our own narrative and shoot footage for it. Usually it takes me awhile to come up with an idea of what I want to do for my assignments but for some reason this idea came to me fairly quickly.
I wish I would have gone out and filmed this on a different day because it was very windy outside and it the lighting wasn’t great. I hope to be able to do something like this again for a newsbreak at the end of the semester.
VO and VOSOTVO 1: Captiva Show and Song Release
This project took me much longer to figure out what I was going to do. I kept coming up with ideas but then struggled to find a way to make them relevant on a local level. This idea came to me the weekend before the project was due and I made it work with what I had.
I was supposed to go meet with the band on Saturday and interview a couple of the guys and then get B-Roll of them practicing for their show later that week, but the bassist and drummer backed out at the last minute and I was just left with the lead singer. Luckily I was able to go meet with him at his house and film some stuff of his studio. Overall, I think the project went okay.
VO and VOSOTVO 2: Video Game Takeover
I was actually pretty pleased with how this assignment came out. I liked my initial idea of doing the story on the video game but when I actually went to film and interview my subject I was getting a little nervous that it wouldn’t turn out very well. There isn’t really a whole to show for B-Roll on this other than footage of the game and the people playing it. Murray, the guy I interview, gave me a great interview and some very nice soundbites. I may have let him talk a little bit too long, but overall I think it went well.
VO 3: Out of Hand Art
For the start of this project I knew I wanted to do it on the KU lacrosse team but I wasn’t sure exactly what the story would be yet. I thought it was going to focus mainly on how the team has grown in the last few years, but my interview with the president of the team completely changed my idea.
He gave me about a five minute answer when I asked why the team has become so much bigger over the last few years. He said that it was due to the brand identity that they created with their new uniforms and apparel. My story changed completely after I got that soundbite from him. Now I want to do a full length story/profile on the lacrosse team. I was really pleased with this assignment.
VOSOTVO 3: KU Lacrosse Brand Identity
One thought on “Self-Reflection 2: VO, VOSOTVO and Video Essay by Patrick Sullivan”
Partner Critique by Tyler Soetaert
First of all, I think your shots have always been very visual, clear and thought-provoking. These are very important skills to have when shooting. I firmly believe that going into this class, you, Patrick, had more film skills than a large portion of the class. I can say that your film and editing skills exceeded everyone else’s in the class for the video essay. That being said, I have also seen growth in these two short months.
Not only have the composition of your shots improved, but the overall quality of your interviews have improved. Additionally, your use of graphics have improved with time. For example, in the second VOSOT regarding the “video game takeover”, you matched the lower third on the interview with similar typography and design as the video game. That was very creative. I believe I am seeing the story-telling element come out of you more and more, week after week.
I want to point out a couple of the improvements that could be made. In regards to your shots, you already know they look great. The real problem comes in the variety of shots you are acquiring. For instance, your VOSOT about KU’s lacrosse team seemed to stick to one general idea– the jerseys. I do understand that this is what the entirety of the story was about, but it is not far fetched to ask for game or practice film. Seeing these players in action would really grab an audience more than just b-roll of the gear and equipment. I want to see people, I want to see emotion and I want to see action that accompanies a story. To add to this point, I believe the shots could have been more diverse for the Captiva VOSOT. Different close ups of him performing or any raw film of the artist would grab an audience very quickly.
Lastly, I want to applaud the personal aspects of some of your stories. The piece about Out of Hand Art and the feature piece about Jackson Ries offers real emotion, personality and a story. I believe that you have an act for using emotion to your advantage in your work.
All things in consideration, I am very excited to work with you, Patrick, on the our upcoming package. I hope that I will be able to add to your skill set and I am confident for future stories.