1st exercises drops! vidding pechakuchas

[lola]

Hello all! Today's the day we kick off our first exercise. This exercise is designed to be reasonably accessible to all... if you're new to editing, then it's a doable way in, and if you already know your way around editing software, then it's addictively fun to make these pechakuchas and surprising how well they turn out! 

Here's the description: 

1) Pechakucha 2 ways

Create a video edit of exactly 60 seconds consisting of precisely 10 video clips from your chosen source text, each lasting precisely 6 seconds, assembled with straight cuts. Make two versions of your pechakucha, with 1 minute excerpts from two different songs as audio. Fade in and out on your audio at the beginning and end of the audio clip.

[Word to the wise: Most six second clips that you use are bound to have in-clip cuts--you don't have to go looking only for clips that have no internal cuts. But you can make those internal cuts work for you rhythmically or thematically etc!]

Then, when you're done, come back here to this post, and post a link in the comments to your completed exercise(s) when they're finished! 

[This exercise is inspired directly by the first of the videographic criticism exercises, but modified here to be vid/fanedit focused with the inclusion of music from an outside source. You can see some examples of the videographic pechakucha’s here: http://videographicessay.org/works/videographic-essay/videographic-pechakuchas?path=videographic-exercises and a more vidlike one Lola made here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls9x7shBjDY.]

For all of these exercises, the rules are hard and fast, unless you don't want them to be :D Some people work best with really specific restrictions, others work best as rule breakers <3

So edit, share, question, mess around, and experiment! Have fun!

Stay tuned for posts & discussions on various video-editing softwares & on choosing your source.

Comments

[extrapenguin]

DaVinci Resolve unfortunately didn't install, so I'm now using kdenlive. It's a bit clunky, but idk if that's just me not knowing how half the shit works, or the program itself being clunky. I have 9 out of 10 6-second slots all slotted (and a few backup candidates for the 10th one), so Pechakucha 1 is almost there! (It's to a section of this song ~0:41-1:41, using Guardian as the video source. Then it's time to search for a second song...)

[bonibaru]

*raises hand* I have a question!

When I watched the Twin Peaks example I was a little confused because I thought there were more than ten 6-second clips used, but after seeing an example with a source I am more familiar with I think I understand better now: a clip may be a continuous scene, yes? With inter-scene jump or other cuts? You do not have to have 6 seconds with no internal cuts, times ten. Yes?

[lola]

That song is so beautiful!! I can totally see it working wonderfully with Guardian! Can't wait to see it! :)
kdenlive looks like a pretty full service video editing software! I can't try it out cause it's just for windows, but I'll be interested to hear how you get along with it!

[lola]

Ah yes yes, totally--any six second clip is going to have edits within it, unless you're like, using a movie that uses super long takes or is all in one take or something. The clip is just six seconds of your source footage; it's bound to have all sorts of internal cuts in it. And then the trick is, I've found, making those internal cuts work for you!

[extrapenguin]

I found my final clip! \o/ And managed to make a vid! Now, to figure out another song – I think I "overfitted" the clips to my song. (The intent was to present the same visual material with two different audios, right?) In the interests of starting out, I just did clip selection and placement, but it does seem to have color grading and more, uh, noticeable effects as well. I might tinker with them on later assignments.

Do you have any recommendations on hosting? Youtube?

[lola]

Hooray!!! That's awesome!!!
Yes, the same visual material, two different audios, to play with the way visuals can convey so differently with different audios... So no more editing the visuals!
And for the pechakuchas (or as we're apparently calling them now, pikachus) yes, no need to get fancy with color grading and effects, but for future videos when you feel ready, absolutely!

[lola]

Oh, and yes, I'd say YouTube or vimeo (vimeo allows you to password protect if you want, but has some uploading limits with their free accounts). If they give you copyright problems, you can sign up to get a Critical Commons account. https://criticalcommons.org/accounts/signup/ Lately these days I use YouTube and Critical Commons.

[extrapenguin]

Yes, the same visual material, two different audios, to play with the way visuals can convey so differently with different audios...
Great! :D Part 2 with the different song shall have to wait for tomorrow, but I uploaded the first version to YouTube! What I Wish For. Concrit welcome, though idk how much would be relevant for a non-pechakucha – the 6s clip length was a challenge for my level of footage-memory.

[lola]

This is so lovely!!! It awoke all my slumbering Guardian feels! Wow, the song is so intensely perfect for the source, and for the clips you chose! I thought this vid had lovely movement and just pulled me right along!

[lola]

So I've decided to mess around with BTS videos for these exercises. I'm only just getting into the fandom, and I haven't worked with music video or concert footage that much before, so it's somewhat new ground for me in multiple ways. But I figured this was a good way to experiment!
My pikachus so far are light and upbeat, because I needed a mood boost.
Version 1: Dance to This
Version 2: Love Yourself

[bonibaru]

OK! All done and uploaded: HIStory3: Trapped, Jack & Zhao Zi. I limited myself to episodes 9 and 10 (the last two). It made it harder in some ways but easier in others. And I'm still really itching for transitions AND it's making me CRAZY not to adjust the timing on beats lol ..... but ... I will survive!

Version 1: Take on Me
Version 2: Armor

[extrapenguin]

This is so lovely!!! It awoke all my slumbering Guardian feels!
\o/ Yay!!!! I picked my second song overnight and rendered in the morning, so I guess I've completed exercise #1? Hopefully the audio is different enough. :P Vid version 2.

[hexenmeister]

I didn't read the fine print about confining yourself to two episodes, whoops.

This challenge was so fun and generative! I'd been feeling stuck on clipping for another vid, and this helped make that feel more doable.

My Sad Dad Lan Wangji vidlets for The Untamed:
Version 1: These Days
Version 2: Should Have Known Better

[lola]

Okay, the second one is AMAZING and so different!! I mean they're both great, and it's amazing how they hone in on different aspects of the story and Shen Wei's character and narrative arc. And the timing worked beautifully in the second one! Isn't it crazy how two different audios can totally work in two different ways?

[extrapenguin]

Yay! Thank you for the hand-holding. :] It's really interesting how they both worked okay – I have vague theories about having similar BPMs, so the places where the music had a beat would've been similar for both, but idk if that has any basis in reality. (And for the second one, I kept imagining the POV as Zhu Jiu lurking in the bushes, ranting about Shen Wei betraying Dixing. *g*)

[lola]

Ah, I love both of these!! I didn't even know this pairing existed and in this one minute two ways you totally sold me on them! It's funny but I feel like seeing the same footage with different music gives me a more of a sense of the range of the characters and relationships etc. If that makes sense!

[lola]

I've just watched the first one and OH MY HEART!! That "my failures" moment physically hurt WOW.
And yay for getting unstuck via this exercise!
Off to watch version two :)

[lola]

omg if I thought the first one broke me... I clicked over thinking hmmm should've known better that sounds familiar and then boom, it's *that* Should've Known Better and you have killed me with Sufjan and LWJ. (My brother had a daughter ow ow ow ow)
These were both wonderful and heartbreaking!!

[bonibaru]

It turns out I like the second song so much better than the first and the only reason I really chose it was the same tempo, but then I saw how well it fits Jack, and, well.

I think you would like this secondary pairing. Jack is a former military assassin turned hired gang mercenary with many secrets who falls for the wide open golden-hearted ingenue young cop who hasn't got a disingenuous bone in his entire body.

[bonibaru]

YOU HURT ME

(I can't wait to see what you do next!)

It's OK to not confine yourself - as Lola said the rules can be flexible. Art resists boundaries by its very nature, lol.

[bonibaru]

Updating with the AO3 links (I forgot you can't edit comments once there's a reply)

Take on Me https://archiveofourown.org/works/23195080

Armor https://archiveofourown.org/works/23195140

[wyomingnot]

Question! Do the clips need to be in the same order?

[bonibaru]

To stick to the particulars of the exercise, yes; part of the exercise is to see how the two different pieces of music impact against the choices you made.

But as Lola mentioned: For all of these exercises, the rules are hard and fast, unless you don't want them to be :D Some people work best with really specific restrictions, others work best as rule breakers <3

So if you really have a strong desire for creative purposes, to rearrange the clips for some particular reason - there's no grade, you won't fail :D You will just have a different experience of the challenge.

[bonibaru]

I REALLY wanted to use transitions between a couple of my clip choices even though technically it was against the rules, but I didn't. But I could have! But I didn't. But I could have and it would have been OK.

[brokenmnemonic]

This looks like fun and a great idea - when I've finished work for the day, I'm going to have to start poking the vid sources I've got on my PC and see if I can join in :D