AD5800 - Final Evaluation

When I started this module, I was very excited and terrified about the idea of making a video and I though I would have never been able to use Adobe Premiere. Now I am very proud of this project and I believe this is the module that I enjoyed most so far. It has been incredibly challenging and I feel it really improved my employability value and, most of all, my creativity.

Video making is a skill that a documentary photographer really needs nowadays. Not necessarily to produce films, but also to promote your photography work on social media or to show it in an exhibition, alongside your pictures.

In support of this statement, I did some research and I went to the personal website some of the most influential contemporary documentary photographers. ALL of them have produced videos and most of them have a specific video/film page on their website.

Here some screenshots from the websites of: Kitra Cahana, Chris De Bode, Edward Burtynsky, Stephanie Sinclair, Tomasz Guzdowaty, Lynsey Addario and Ami Vitale.

Schermata 2018-12-04 alle 21.49.21

Schermata 2018-12-04 alle 21.48.03

Schermata 2018-12-04 alle 23.24.13

Schermata 2018-12-04 alle 21.22.45

Schermata 2018-12-04 alle 21.15.11

Schermata 2018-12-04 alle 21.16.04

Schermata 2018-12-04 alle 21.46.19

Reflecting about my submission, there are many things that I could have done better. I have to improve in recording an action for longer time, making it easier to use in post production; my depth of focus is often very short and when I make a sequence with many frames out of focus it gives a confusing sensation to the viewer.

I regret I have not done any "formal" interview set-up, not necessarily because I needed it in my video, but it is something with which I have to get familiar with and I lost many occasions to practice.

Specifically critiquing my two submissions, I believe that if I would have came back to shoot more footage of the subject of my 3 minutes video (which was my very first video experience) I would have got better material.

I am very proud of the 60 second video because I built a sequence using extremely short cuts and matching the music in the background, but I did not strictly followed the guidelines, which is fundamental when working on commission.

In conclusion, I absolutely enjoyed this module and I feel more confident about my skills. I am also happy that I did these videos on the same project of my book (From Iron, Wood and Clay) because it really added complexity to the whole work.

Now I know that I will not abandon this medium, that will become an essential tool to promote and expand my documentary photography works.