How to Tie a Balloon Dog: Time-Based Instruction
Exploring how to effectively communicate the steps in tying a balloon dog via an instructive video
(10.14.16) Project Prompt:
For my project, I will make a video that instructs people how to perform my specific task (tying a balloon dog). I will make my video successful by using effective composition, lighting, pacing, duration, audio, settings, and subject matter.
(10.14.16–10.18.16) Topic exploration and research:
The picture to the left (retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/ images/crafts/balloons/step-by-step-instructions-to-make-a-balloon-dog.jpg) demonstrates the steps required to make a balloon dog. I referenced this picture a lot as I learned how to tie a balloon dog.
(10.24.16) Filming my rough cut:
My idea for the rough cut of my video was to capture the most important moments of making a balloon dog and clearly communicate them. There is definitely a lot of room for improvement: I want to make the sound crisper, the lighting better, and vary shots. I’d like to include close-ups of important events in the video and add dynamic angles. This, for now, is just the gist of my video.
(10.25.16) Reflections after peer video review/crit
After watching several videos that my peers produced, I realized specific ways I can improve my video. It was both their mistakes and successes that informed this realization.
For my next video, I would like to:
- Use my hands to guide the viewer through the most important steps by pinching sections of the balloon I am about to twist, and pause before and after twisting sections together. Anna’s video did this very well.
- Show the finished product first as an establishing shot as to inform my viewer about the outcome of my video
- Use comfortable framing as to not cut out parts of the balloon or crop my shots awkwardly
- Dress unobtrusively so I do not distract from the making of my balloon dog (I would like to wear a white t-shirt or something else that is not distracting)
- Use close up shots to effectively demonstrate movements that are coupled with hand signals that pilot the viewer clearly in making a balloon dog. This can show more information.
- Use fluid, succinct movements that show dexterity, lessen distraction, and give me balloon-tying “authority”
(10.26.16) Filming my second rough cut:
The comments I received from my peers for the above video (my second rough cut) include:
- My instructions are “pretty clear — especially using hands to show measurement of balloon sections,” but I can work on improving “the shot where [I] show the tail end of the balloon” because it is confusing “in sequence.”
- My video is “clear in showing the length of balloon before twisting” and my “movement is clear,” but I could work on “the orientation” because at times “it is a little confusing, especially when some of the scenes are awkwardly cropped.”
- “I like that you show the proportion of each part,” one of my peers wrote, “but your black sleeves are a little distracting.”
- “When you twist the balloon dog’s head together, the jump you take [when you spliced the video] is a little unclear.”
Based on these comments, I want to:
- Add shots where I zoom out so the viewer can see the entire balloon dog
- Not wear a black shirt as to not to distract the viewer
- Not awkwardly crop the video
(10.31.16) Upperclassmen critique (unofficial/off the books)
After talking to upperclassmen design students, I realized other improvements I can make:
- I should rent an external microphone to connect to my camera so that the background noise is minimized and the sound that is recorded comes entirely from tying the balloon dog itself
- I should use background noise adjustments in iMovie when editing my video
(11.6.16) Final video:
Successes:
- Lighting
- Eliminating distractions
- Quality of balloon dog’s form (it is very proportional)
Areas I could improve in:
- Awkward cropping
- Background noise elimination (hard to do because the photo studio has very loud background noise)
(11.8.16) Take aways:
Overall, I learned a lot about myself as an aspiring designer during this process. I enjoyed working with editing, with a camera and with lighting. I think my overall happiness during my working process is reflected by the quality of work I produced. While there are still flaws in my video and lots of room for improvement, I think I have the ability to make an above-par video, if given more time. There are things I’d like to reshoot or reedit (namely the opening shot and the final tying of my balloon dog) that could render my video more successful.
I have a deeper understanding of how to make a video successful holisitically. I learned throughout this process that individual elements of filming can make or break the final cut, and I learned to be detail-oriented and careful with my work.
I also learned that collaborating with peers is often the best way to resolve issues in your work. For instance, I initially struggled with how to communicate the steps in tying a balloon dog clearly. It was by watching Anna’s first video that I learned how to do this more effectively.