My first draft of this video was very plain and boring, for the most part.  Every clip of the video is introduced by a white title card in the top right, but the font is dull and uninteresting.  The video starts with a video of my friend, Ben, and I in his car introducing the film that we were about to see, The House That Jack Built.  Then, it transitions into two clips filmed in an editing studio with a USB mic.  In the first of the two clips, Ben and I give our initial thoughts on the film.  The final clip is a long, unedited, film review while stumbling over my words.  No one wants to watch that, so I changed it up in the final draft.

The first decision I made when crafting my final video was to keep the introductory clip, cut the second and third clips, and film two new ones.  I thought that doing a broad review of the film was boring, so I decided to analyze how the film relates to the director, Lars von Trier.  That was way more interesting to me and it flowed better.  The “initial thoughts” clip felt superfluous, so I cut it.  In replacement of these two, I recorded two new clips with my phone against a white wall.  This keeps the viewer’s eyes focused on the graphics and I, and not a flashy background.

The first new clip (second in sequence) gives context to what is introduced in the first clip (provocateurs, Lars von Trier, and The House That Jack Built), because I am aware that not many people are familiar with Lars and his movies.  I flash the pronunciation and definition of “provocateur” as a visual aid for the viewer.  When talking about each film, their posters appear next to my head so whoever is watching can get an idea of what kind of film I am talking about.  This clip is easily the most visually stimulating in the video, because watching me explain things that most people are unfamiliar with would be boring without something else to look at.

The final clip is me centered against a white wall, analyzing the film through the director’s lens.  I chose to only include a title card to keep the viewer focused on what is said.

When reconstructing my project, I decided to address the peer feedback I received.  The piece of criticism that I chose to implement into my video was to add accompanying pictures to what I am talking about.  This makes the project more visually interesting.

My initial draft felt too slow, so I decided to edit out all of the verbal fillers and pauses with the razor tool.  I added text with the type tool and changed the fonts and sizes.  Every graphic cross dissolves in to lessen their abrupt appearances.  Lastly, I mixed the audio levels by lowering the volume line in the wave forms.

Tyler Kee

Final Storyboard: The House That Jack Built Movie Review