The next in pre-production was to create shot list. I used my storyboard as a basis for my shots. I then considerd the timing for each shot, this will be useful for editing and when I shoot knowing exactly I footage I need.
Tuesday, 13 May 2025
Crafting Joy: Sock Monkey Magic: The Shot List
Video Storytelling: Planning
I have now finalised my idea and mocked up storyboards with potential shots and order. I will now go through the planning for my explainer video. Crafting Joy: Sock Monkey Magic
What is your final idea? Please explain in two sentences your chosen video and the theme/your idea
To create an explainer video where I explain how to make a sock monkey. I will show the materials needed, the process with the correct stitching and the final outcome.
Considering the form, What are the location or locations of your video shoot?
The location will be my own home, I will just need a large table and a plain background
How long do you expect your video to be?
The video will be 3-5 minutes long.
How are you filming your footage? Please state the phone or camera model you will be using
I will be using a Canon 700D DSLR, I may also use a smaller olympus camera or my phone for some shots.
What extra equipment will you be using?
I will be using a large and a small tripod. The large tripod will be for my medium shots. I will use the small tripod and a smaller camera to get details of my hands and the sewing.
What is the plan of your time and how much you will need to spend on this?
The actual shooting may take a few hours, as just making the monkey actually takes around two hours, and then actually shooting the correct shots whilst making the monkey will be longer. The editing of the shoot will then take me probably about 5 hours.
What do you imagine the final video style and content will look like?
I am expecting this to be in the form of an explainer video, and so will be in this style. I want this to look homely and friendly, not corporate!
Have you considered the Titles and credits and any additional subtitles needed? Explain how your ideas here
Yes, I want there to be clear titles so that this will work well on YouTube. I then may add additional subtitles or prompts throughout in text, as in other explainer videos. Yes there will be clear credits at the end.
Shooting and reshooting will need to be done? Have you factored in what you will do if you need additional footage?
Yes, I am expecting that I will need to reshoot some shots but I intend to also review as am going along as this a lengthy process. I should have time for reshoots if necessary
What will you be editing on, and how long do you expect this to take?
I will be editing on Clipchamp and I expect this will take me around five hours.
Write down any other thoughts or comments related to your plan.
Making an explainer video, the planning is key as I will need all the equipment ready for the Monkey and my video shoot. Some of the shots may be challenging as I am filming by myself and it is myself in the video. I expect that once I have the shot positioning correct, I will be able to repeat shots well, and there will be good continuity. In terms of the audio, if I make a mistake or it is not good, I can record the audio separately and add this over the shots, and this may work better anyway. I will also be using copyright free music at the beginning and end, and possibly during if there is just action and no speaking. I also may have issues with lighting if I have to reshoot as lighting conditions in my home can change due to the weather and to ensure continuity it would be better to get all shots in the same lighting condiotns.The edit is key to this to make a lengthy process short and clear.
Tuesday, 6 May 2025
Video Storytelling: Storyboard - A Day in Life
In class today we created a storyboard using LTX Studio. I created a day in the life storyboard and this is the story I created. This studio is using using AI however as this a pre-visulaisation -no AI will be in my final work.
I then created the cast
I also created a timeline which can be seen here
Video Storytelling: Storyboarding
I have created my storyboards using LTX Studio. This is AI assisted however you just write in detail your own story so that is can create an accurate storyboard with shots and a timeline. The timeline was quite fun and I added a soundtrack!
This storyboarding really helped to solidify the shots and ideas and so now the project is called Crafting Joy: Sock Monkey Magic
The storyboard is here and although I could not do more as I only had a free amount of credits this really does go through the range of shots that will be used and the shots needed.
Sunday, 4 May 2025
Finalising Idea & Initial Research: Video Storytelling
After much consideration, my final idea will be Making a Monkey. I will make a sock monkey in an explainer video. The shots are not too many, however, getting the different shots and angles will take time (as well as making the monkey!). I will create a plan and shot list to ensure that this can be successful. I intend to shoot either on the Canon 700D or an Olympus DSLR. I may use my phone for some shots in different set up but I am still considering this.
Sewing explainer videos are very popular, in this example, there is no voice over or explanation - just music and the action is the creation of the monkey. The shot is just one shot and there are extra instructions on screen as well as the pattern to download and you can subscribe to the channel
This is one approach; the other approach is to have an explanation and a person showing you how this is done. Again, most of the video below is a top down shot of the actions, there is also the man's voice over and subtitles so the explanation is clear at all times. This video is detailed and you could easily follow this real time and watch and copy.
Explainer videos are great for, obviously, explaining things! However, this is not their only purpose and they are used for many purposes for small and large businesses. They are an easy way to hook in users to products and services. They can help boost search engine optimisation, boost conversion rates, have easy links to social media and are easily shared and so they improve business. They are also good for people as people learn from them, they gain an understanding and sometimes a skill, and they can help people connect with a community online that enjoys the same things as they do. They can also appeal to a range of learning styles and people find their favourite people to explain things and often subscribe and follow them online.
It is important for this project to understand what makes the explainer video not just okay, but really good so people want to watch this and learn something from it. Forbes states that there are five key elements that make an explainer video great, and they are:
- 'A clear and concise script
- A clear voice-over
- An understandable video caption
- Engaging visuals
- A catchy and memorable soundtrack' (YEC, 2022)
Forbes also states that, 'The average user will not spend more than 20 seconds on your site if they're not hooked.' (YEC, 2022). On the internet, people will click away as soon as they are not interested, and now there is so much choice - why should they look at my video? Looking further at the research, Forbes advises the following: 'Plan the script, make it short and sweet, use simple language, keep the tone light and create rich visuals' (YEC, 2022). In my own video, I plan to set up to shots that will be constant so I have a constant recording from two angles, and so I don't have to shoot them separately. I also plan to complete a voice over just on the computer so that I can add this over the explanation as well as any straight to camera shots. I also plan to make a storyboard and shot list tro ensure it is absolutely clear how I will be doing this. Pre-production will be the key to making this really work.
Frontiers in Communication state: 'The use and importance of online videos about news, science, and climate change are continuously increasing (Allgaier, 2019; Frees et al., 2019; Galan et al., 2019). For example, 62% of Germans use YouTube frequently or occasionally as a search engine for specific questions and issues (Koch and Bleisch, 2020). Almost 70% watch videos on general knowledge topics, and 65% watch explainer videos or tutorials, with the share being even higher among young people (Koch and Bleisch, 2020; Wissenschaft im Dialog, 2021).' (Schorn, 2022). The importance of this is that most people receive and learn information from websites, particularly YouTube, and younger people are even more likely to watch YouTube for explainer videos and tutorials. The increasing use of explainer videos, tutorials and learning online has changed how people learn and what learning means. The impact of Covid had a massive effect on people's attitude to online learning and how institutions and websites changed to accommodate how people wanted to learn and in what way.
I may here be creating a fairly simple explainer video about making a sock monkey, but thinking about how this could mean I could teach others to do this, and how they might enjoy this, and it would bring joy to others - it is important and I do not take that lightly. There is nothing forgivable about a bad explainer video!
References
Mezzolab (n.d.). Top 30 Benefits of Explainer Videos. [online] www.mezzolab.com. Available at: https://www.mezzolab.com/blog/top-30-benefits-of-explainer-videos [Accessed 4 May 2025].
Schorn, A. (2022). Online explainer videos: Features, benefits, and effects. Frontiers in Communication, 7. doi:https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2022.1034199.
YEC (2022). Explainer Videos And The Key To Making Them Great. [online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/councils/theyec/2022/09/16/explainer-videos-and-the-key-to-making-them-great/ [Accessed 4 May 2025].
Tuesday, 29 April 2025
Video Storytelling: Timed Practice One
In this timed practice we all chose an emotion and shot footage for 30 minutes with a partner showing that emotion. As the teacher I did not shoot this however I created a video with stock footage as we spent 30 minutes editing. I edited on clipchamp. I added music from the free music archive, I used crossfades and added titles and credits
This is the video I created - I added this to Youtube and so this easy to view and publicly available. This was a nice quick edit, I obviously did not shoot this but I did think about the shots and I like teh shots with miovement and moving from close up to long shots works well. I enjoyed this short exercise.
Introduction: Video Storytelling Project
Over the next three weeks I will be working on my video storytelling project. In this project I can choose to make an Explainer video, A Day in the Life Video or an Event Video. We looked at examples in class of all three types of video and after this I began to think of ideas about what I would like to make for this project. The project could be filmed on any device and needed to be doable in the time given with the shooting and editing.
I started by brainstorming and making a mindmap Lucidspark
After completing this and thinking about my ideas, and considering time available and what I need to do in terms of filming and editing, I have chosen to do 'Making a Monkey'. I like this as it links to a project I did in the first term which was making sequential monkey images. I can plan and storyboard this easily and although I will need lots of different shots. The set up at home should not be too complicated and I can reshoot and take many shots so I should have lots of choices when I edit this together. My next post will be the planning of the shoot.
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