Found Footage
The production process of the found footage project was largely focused on finding the footage itself. The theme I had chosen was pretty straightforward - it was to exclusively use footage shot on Super8 film. I used Pexels and Internet Archives to find my footage. I found a large portion of the footage from a singular account on Pexels. None of this footage had a central theme I felt could tell a story however, and they were all about 10-15 seconds maximum. This is when I turned to my other source of Internet Archives and happened about footage compiled from multiple Pride celebrations shot anywhere between 1975 and 2000.
Although there was no explicit central story point here either, I felt that I could find a way to make this unrelated footage all work together to create a feeling and a short story.
The story creation came primarily then, from editing. And I absolutely love video editing. This project was also one of my favorites to edit because I felt I could be most creative with it. I decided to have the story mostly led by the music I chose to go with it. And the central focus became the feeling it gives the viewer as they watch. It's supposed to be slightly confusing, somewhat tension building and exciting, and also simplistic.
The Metaphor of Self project was a little more traditional in the style of editing I chose to do and story I wanted to tell. I primarily used materials from my room that I feel describe me in some ways. I looked at a few sentimental family photos with my mother and my uncle, and a photo of my toddler-self. I also found journal entries from points in this semester that describe what my experience has been like this year in terms of mental health. I found that this project was less enjoyable and more difficult than the Found Footage project. When it comes to these production project, I tend to look for shots that look better on my camera, rather than on my iPhone. I found, in looking at the example videos of the project, that people took relatively simple approaches, using their phones to film very ever-day like shots. I wanted to take the metaphor idea a little more to heart, but wasn't the most satisfied with all of what I came up with. I wish I expanded a little more outside my room, but I simply couldn't fully conceptualize shots that would fit into the time-frame of the assignment that I liked alongside the other footage.
Between the two projects, I found that the Found Footage project was more experimental and creatively satisfying for me. The processes differed because with the Found Footage project the entire point was to use footage that you didn't shoot, and instead, use footage that you found.
Metaphor of Self
The Metaphor of Self had broader parameters, which made it a bit more difficult for me to conceptualize how I would represent all of myself in one video. Much of the process of the Metaphor of Self Project was about trying random things out while shooting, and then putting it together to make a stronger message in post production. The Found Footage, as previously mentioned, was creative in both the collection and editing process. For the Metaphor of Self, I wasn't as much focused on syncing my shots to music as much as I was for the Found Footage.