I wanted to select this work because of its frankness and simplicity. The similarity of the composition with other popular tropes and images which use hands provided a springboard into what the painting was suggestion. Personally, I really enjoy the wet brushstrokes Mead has used, but I didn’t want any part of the content to be about artistic taste in that way. All in all, I thought that the work had great untapped potential in contemporary culture, and wanted to contribute in some small way towards shifting it into the spotlight.
The process of making the video was a tough one for someone very new to video editing. The experience I gained making a YouTube video on the Borough group was invaluable. Thankfully, although a switch of software meant more work to relearn the tools I’d be using, it resulted in less work in the long-term as the new software I used was much more responsive and powerful. I discovered how important it is at all parts of the process to label and catalogue resources and recorded elements so that you can keep track of them easily whilst juggling what you want to do. Making a video like this can be very erratic, because despite the short length of the content, it takes a long time to piece together. I think I spent over 2 hours clicking through Tracy Beaker episodes in order to find that one clip I remembered and wanted to include of Camilla Lawson. By extension, sometimes I found that my idea of a meme or joke I wanted to bring in was fabricated, or I’d misremembered it. I would finally discover a clip I thought was appropriate and find that a few words were different in the phrasing which thus rendered the reference over-worked or irrelevant.
The project has of course helped me gain an awareness of where to improve. I found that I need to take better care not to load all of the content/transitions/jokes/flashy bits towards the front of the clip. Whilst I enjoy have a moment to extend dialogue and say something a bit more sophisticated, I think both of my video are a bit front-loaded and trail slightly towards the end. Ambitions I’d had to use a greenscreen were also met with practicalities of my current budget and ability, and certainly something I’d love to work with in the future.
Lastly, it sounds like a platitude, (and I know I would eye-roll reading this) but I also think its crucial to enjoy yourself, because approaching the task as something to have fun with really helps to stay motivated.