Draft Video Story
When deciding on a topic for this unit, I knew I wanted to create a recipe how-to video, like I’m sure we’ve all seen on the internet. Some examples of these types of videos can be seen at Tasty and Buzzfeed Food. I decided to focus on the same caramel coffee protein I created the graphic image for in the class’ first unit. Doing so brings my blog for the class around full-circle, as units 2 and 3 are related concepts as well.
Filming
When I had designed my recipe image in the first unit, I had done so in the order of how I prefer (and recommend) to pour the ingredients into the blender. In doing so, it felt as though I had a bit of my video story already organized for me. Keeping with the beginning-middle-end construct of a story, I had planned on having an opening shot of the ingredients on the table, then the listing and mixing of the ingredients as the middle, and the finished beverage as the end.
Setting up the scene for the video was a bit more daunting than I had anticipated. To keep my place with the different ingredient changes, I had marked on the table where my phone should be placed and how it should be angled to help prevent the film jumping too much. One plus of having the shutters as the background was they provided natural lines in the scenery which in using the rule of thirds when trying to align the items. The lighting in my kitchen is very bright and provided what I though was a great lighting for my phone’s video camera.
When filming the individual ingredients, I filmed each for 10 seconds both with and without being moved, with the intention of this providing footage for the still shot before fast-motion occurs that I had planned. However, when viewing the footage together, it became prevalent that the markings I had used to keep my phone in place did not work for each shot (or likely I moved the phone).
Editing
The process I used to construct my video story is like the process we used in the Premiere tutorials. Once the clips were uploaded to Premiere and added to the project, I created a new sequence and marked in and out the clips I would take without audio from the upper-right video-editing box. To speed up some of the clips, I used the speed/duration tool and increased the speed.
Once the clips were in place, I created various titles for the ingredients and instructions for the different parts of the video. As I created these, I added different effects to the clips and titles to help smooth out transitions. I also used the positioning and scaling video effects as much as I could to fix the clips that were not aligned with the others due to the phone moving.
After the video was put together, I added an audio clip I found online that went surprisingly very well with the transitions in the video, called Drops of H20 (The Filtered Water Treatment) by J.Lang. I am not sure if I like the current song, but having some audio gives the draft more life than none. Ideally I was looking for a song similar to an instrumental version of “Brand New Key” by Melanie Safka or likewise-upbeat, but I have not had much luck in my search. A lot of what I’m finding online to use commercially is more electronic than I’d like.
Moving forward, I plan to clean up some of the transitions between the still shot and the fast-motion clips. It did not dawn on me to simply take a photo of the beginning of the clip using the Export Frame tool rather than piecing together parts of different clips as frequently as I did, until I had gotten near the end of editing. Doing this will hopefully help smooth out some of the choppier parts of the video.
Storyboard
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS 
Hi K.C.,
Great job! I thought your story was very clear and simple, but still really interesting. Since you only had one angle from which you were shooting, I think you made a smart choice by keeping the video pretty short. You also did an excellent job of choosing when to increase the speed on certain segments. It made the whole video feel really engaging.
In terms of suggestions for improvement, there were just a few points in the video where the camera angle changed slightly on the same shot and it felt a little bit jarring, like I briefly lost my balance. I think this is what you were referring to in your blog post, and it sounds like you have a plan to smooth those out. I think that smoothing those out (either by re-shooting or by the techniques you were talking about) will make the video seem more professional.
While I do think the song you chose worked well, a more upbeat song could make the whole video feel like a lot of fun. I don’t know if this would work with your recipe, but it might also be fun to include some ideas for variations at the end of the video. A lot of my cookbooks offer little variations on recipes, and I always enjoy seeing those alternatives. I don’t know how chocolate chips or a handful of nuts would taste, but you could maybe suggest some different combinations? A calorie count might also be helpful since many people see the word “caramel” and immediately assume it’s going to be high calorie.
Overall, I think you have a really strong story. Good job!
Jaime Tryon
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Hi K.C.,
Cool video idea, I could see a video like this on instgram, buzzfeed, or some sort of social media platform. It was simple, clean and provided easy instructions. You picked great music for the background, it was upbeat, but not obnoxious and flowed well with the topic and instructions. You also did a great job with you edits, I liked the font you used. Great job with transition for the instructions as well. You did a nice job describing your process for your video as well.
Suggestions for improvement:
One thing I think would be cool for your video is to show someone drinking the caramel coffee protein shake. Whenever I see videos like these I like to see the reaction of the person after all their hard work. Just a suggestion, but it is not needed for the video. It would be nice to know the nutritional value of the shake as well, you could insert that at the end of the video.
I like that you used one close-up shot for the entire video, gives it an artsy feel. I did notice the camera moves slightly up and down during the video. I would suggest using a tri-pod and moving the shot slightly back, this would eliminate the movement throughout the video. Since you are only using one shot it is very noticeable when the camera moves.
Overall I think you have a great start to you video, very strong already. Minor tweaks could be done to enhance what you already have. I liked that the video already tied into some projects you have already completed for this class.
-Ashley
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Hi K.C.,
This is a great video! I did a recipe video as well and yours turned out so much better than mine. You made an excellent choice keeping your phone propped while you filmed for stability. I do like that you were still able to track upwards for some of the shots that appeared to be out of the frame at first. I also really like that you have the ingredients added as text. Especially in such a quick video, it really helps the viewer to follow along and helps to tell a complete story. I also really like the mix you chose of music with the water sounds. It fits well with the theme and flow of your video.
One suggestion would be to slow the video down just slightly. Since you do have plenty of time, it might be nice to slow down at least the parts that list ingredients. This will make it easier for viewers that are either following along or trying to write the recipe down. I would probably have to watch it a few times through to catch it all. The only other suggestion might be to have someone sipping it at the end. Adding a human element could be fun. Great job!
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Thanks for the feedback, everyone! Moving forward, I plan to adjust the timing on the fast-paced areas to slow it down a bit, after using the export frame to even out the shots that appear rather jumpy. Doing this, I can lengthen the amount of time the individual ingredients are pictured, for better viewing purposes.
To help with the recipe further, I am thinking about adding an additional title near the end listing the ingredient measurements together on the same page, as a moment where viewers can pause the video to have it all in one spot, if desired.
I am also going to keep researching different songs to see if any other options fit with my video. Though it does work with it, it’s not necessarily what I envisioned. I may play around with adding another audio component to the video to help add some zest to it.
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Good job on your draft KC! I enjoyed your video and would love to try your recipe. I was a bit surprised you went for a “Readable” video but it worked great for your theme and kept it simple which is great. I may simplify my own video down after seeing yours. The “Readable” video made it easy to follow and the audience would be clear on the ingredients. The straw being put in the drink at the end was a great touch. I liked the idea of keeping your phone steady but choosing one shot. The angle was good and kept the video interesting. A few more angles may be nice. Could you add an introduction of a shot of all the ingredients? I also liked what one of the other peers said about a conclusion shot of someone enjoying the drink. Both ideas may bring a good introduction and conclusion into your video. I liked your music choice as well. However I did think it may be a bit loud. All in all I enjoyed your fresh take on the video draft.
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