Film & Video for Pacific University OEDI Internship
Pre-Production
To start the preproduction process I connected with my site supervisor, Jennifer Teeter, to generate a list of goals that should be accomplished with the two video projects. The goals of the videos were to introduce new and current students to the OEDI. The videos should outline the resources that are offered through the OEDI, as well as how to connect with the office both in person and online.
Once I had a clear list of goals defined for the project it was time to move into the research phase. During this part of the process I referred back to an old introduction video the OEDI created to get a better understanding of what content to include within the videos and to get inspiration for the structure.
I then drafted an outline for the video structure and a clear list of things I would need from Jennifer in order to move onto the production phase of the project.
I knew that with this type of video it would be difficult to get a perfect and seamless take of the talking head shot, so I opted out of creating story boards for the videos. This allowed me to base my edit off of the script, as well as the actual delivery, and make adjustments as needed. It was still really important to utilize some secondary images and b-roll through out the videos to add some visual interest and context. I relied on the Marketing and Communications department to source these secondary visuals. I was able to use photos of past events, footage of students on campus, and drone shots of the Forest Grove campus.
Production
Production took place on Pacific University's Forest Grove Campus. More specifically, we decided to choose the locations of Marsh Lawn and inside the OEDI's Marsh Hall Office space.
When it came to gear, both videos had the same camera and audio setups. I utilized the Canon C100 Mark 2 paired with a camera mounted shotgun mic. In an ideal situation, I would have opted to use a lav mic setup combined with a boom. However, due to technical difficulties and other limitations I had to use the shotgun mic mounted on the camera.
The OEDI Introduction video for Orientation was shot outside to create a more welcoming and friendly feeling. I relied on natural sunlight that was dispersed by the tall trees on the Marsh Lawn. This created a very soft and pleasing quality of light. Filming outdoors did create some difficulties due to construction happening on campus and people walking through the frame.
The general introduction video for the OEDI webpage was shot within the OEDI office space in Marsh Hall. This location created a more professional feeling. It also better introduced Narce Rodriguez by giving viewers a peek into her personal office space. Shooting inside meant I couldn't rely as heavily on natural lighting. I utilized two GVM LED light panels to light my subject combined with the window light, bounce boards, and negative fill to shape the light and light the background.
Overall, production went very smoothly with very little hiccups!
Post-Production
The final phase of this project was post-production. There, I was able to bring all of my assets together and create the final videos. I utilized the Adobe Creative Cloud, mainly using Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects.
Through careful organization of my project assets, I was able to streamline my editing. The foundation of these videos was the talking head footage of Narce Rodriguez, so that is where I started. I began by creating a timeline for that footage and color grading it at the beginning. This was to ensure that all of the footage had the same look before I chopped the clips up.
Once the color grading of the talking head portion was complete, I began to chop the footage up and assemble a radio edit. This sequence focused on the timing and cadence of Narce's speech to create a natural and engaging flow for the video. From there I carefully implemented the secondary visuals from MarCom to help visually engage viewers, as well as cover any unwanted cuts present after creating the radio edit.
An important part of the post-production phase was learning how to create closed captions. OEDI and I decided it would be best if the videos contained captions to make them accessible to a wider ranger of people. I was able to do some research and utilize the 'Captions' panel within Adobe Premiere Pro to auto generate captions. I then began to refine any errors and edit their appearance to better align with the Pacific University brand. In the end it was a very simple process but did so much in making these videos more accessible.
