Tech Fair Update
I finally finished the Tech Fair video last night. It was way tougher than I had thought it was going to be. For one, working under such a strict time constraint (had to be no more than 60 seconds) goes against every video-making instinct I have. My first draft had a nice establishing shot showing the hero creeping up to a dragon’s den, and then a shot of him waiting as the gate opens so we get a good look at his back, then another with the camera panning up his body as he creeps down to where the dragon sleeps. I sent that to my boss and he loved it but he pointed out that just those first couple of shots were already over 60 seconds.
So I scrapped that and cut right to the chase. Even then, I had to cut and shave and trim to the point that I was worried the video would turn into a series of barely-related flashcards rather than a video. But by the end, I have to say that the constant trimming did make it tighter than it ever would have been before, and while I still wish I’d had another 60 seconds to tell the story better (since telling stories is what I enjoy doing the most), it was an educational experiment in learning how to get the most bang in the least amount of time.
It was also an education in the use of soundtracks. Normally, I just use Jonathan Coulton’s song as the soundtrack and I don’t have to think about it. But for this one, I had to find music that fit the timing of the action well, which was a giant pain in the keister. The end product’s not bad, but I think I’ll stick to having a ready-made JoCo soundtrack in the future. Much easier.
