PREMISE
OCTOBER 22, 2019
Conveyed through a 60 second video, the goal of this project is to clearly identify and transmit instructions for a certain task. My randomly assigned task is to show how to hem a pair of pants or skirt without a sewing machine.
The objective of the task is to efficiently foreground aspects of the task that are important to the viewer and exclude or background the aspects that are irrelevant or redundant. My personal objective in understanding the project is to successfully iterate by effectively emphasizing the key points to hemming and being able to discard unnecessary points, regardless of any attachment.
During my first attempt in learning to hem a pair of pants, I documented a few key moments of the process:
Although I felt that my pictures captured the most important moments, it is a bit difficult to follow through from picture to picture in the format of a story. Additionally, learning how to hem for the very first time made teaching it more difficult because I felt like I was not skilled enough to teach it to begin with. My hands were shaky and unfamiliar with the movement which was not entirely clear in the pictures but will probably become clear during the video.
Sewing references // How I learned to hem // Video Inspiration
Observational sewing techniques & logistics:
- The ruler method of measuring the hemming line isn’t quite accurate — use pins next time to avoid miscalculations
- Cut more string in order to avoid running out and have enough to keep the measurements close to each other — no harm in having too much string but I won’t be able to capture the circumference of the pants without too little string
- Find a method of looping and tying the strings that is easy to follow; the second video showed the stitching too far from the camera so I was unclear about the video
- It would be easier to show the hemming from first person — and don’t include a face or clothes/jewelry because it’s a little distracting
Things to consider:
- Would using a different color string be easier to visually identify?
- How can I best position the string and needle so my direction of action is clear?
- How can I effectively and clearly connect each movement to the next one?
STORYBOARDING // UNDERSTANDING TRANSITIONS
OCTOBER 24, 2019
Hemming the other pant leg was much easier than the first time because I was already relatively familiar with the process. However, I took significantly more pictures compared to last time because I felt that my first time did not adequately capture the sewing aspect of the task.
With the task of storyboarding, I pushed myself to focus more of the content on the sewing and less on other parts of the task such as flipping the pants and measuring.
RAW STORYBOARD PICTURES
While the lighting appropriately highlighted the content, one central issue of visibility was the overcrowding of hands. The composition with both hands in the frame covered the needle and thread (the key components of hemming).
Additionally, the white thread was a better idea because it made the instructions more clear, I should have hooked the needle to a single thread instead of pushing all the way through because it made the outside aesthetic unappealing when weaving in and out of the pants.
PAPER STORYBOARD
Making the storyboard on paper and rolling it out helped me see how the video was proportionally spaced. Not only did it force me to break the process down into important key images, but it showed me that while the preparation and the sewing pants aspect are nearly even, the finish of the video would be abrupt and disproportional to the video.
DIGITAL STORYBOARD
Things to consider for filming:
- How can I create a beginning and end to my story?
- Audio for the video (especially when most of hemming is a silent process)
- Showing the needle preparation process (threading the needle, etc.)
- How can I stop the needle clips from blending together? Cutting the clips at different angles? The storyboard above shows that much of the entire story is in one single setting that blurs the directions to go in
- Possible scenes to omit or place more emphasis on (what is confusing for someone who has never sewn before?)
- How should I adjust the clips to fit 60 seconds?
FILMING // CAPTURING FLUID MOVEMENT
OCTOBER 29, 2019
For filming the video for the first time, I found that I was struggling the most with being able to accurately hem with clear precision under the pressure of working under the camera. Between focusing on the task and focusing on the quality of the shot, finding balance created many clips that were shaky or unclear in terms of instructions.
I had issues with finding lighting that did not appear to yellow and having someone else hold the camera made instructions difficult because I was distracted with making sure angles were being captured.
Additionally, after filming these clips, I realized that there were a few distracting elements within my shots. Having colorful jewelry distracts from the content of the task and having glimpses of the background when adjusting the camera makes the viewer lose focus of the hemming. Additionally, my dirty vans made the shot unappealing and distracting, and it also made it seem like the brand of the shoe had significance because it was so up close.
In terms of timing, although I figured the one minute time constraint would be one of the most challenging aspects of the video, I found it easier to take out parts of the video than I previously expected. I started out with almost 3 minutes worth of content and then was able to cut it down to 1 minute and 16 seconds. By shortening the tiny moments at the beginning and end of the clips, it significantly reduced the length of the overall video.
Also, I need to improve in sewing skills. Filming the video took much longer than I expected to based on the sheer amounts of mistakes I made, leaving with many more fail videos that successful ones:
Things to consider:
- How to avoid making the sewing clips appear like they are blending together?
- How does action verification play a role in choosing which clips to put in?
- Should I continue sewing or should I ask someone who is better skilled to do it?
- Would using red string and white pants make the hemming lines more clear? Are the dark pants hard to focus on? If I used white pants would the black background be better?
RELOCATING // SHARPENING VIDEO QUALITIES
OCTOBER 31, 2019
Entering into this iteration, I knew that I needed somewhere other than the studio to film. The studio lighting felt too yellow-toned and dimmed, and it was difficult to film non-sewing shots without capturing the dark background on the sides. Most importantly, however, finding a time during the day where no one was making noise in the studio was nearly impossible. Even if I were to ask people to quiet down, the overall sounds of human movement would still be traced in the background of the video.
To deal with the location situation, Bon and I rented the CFA Shooting Studio at the bottom floor of Margaret Morrison. We shared the space in order to be in a quiet environment and also work together in filming the other person while one person films. Here, there was no noise and no possibility of people walking in because it requires a specific scanned card to gain access. Filming in the CFA studio made my video significantly more professional with the enhanced lighting equipment and lack of background noise.
My filming setup:
While the formal qualities of the video drastically improved, there were still many areas that needed to more thoroughly developed. After showing many people my video, I received the same general feedback from each person.
- The setup/preparation for hemming was clear
- The sounds of movement are nice but the air conditioning in the background is distracting
- Body language is not confident so it becomes clear that I lack expertise in hemming pants. My hands are shaky at moments such as threading the needle and I struggle to pull the needle out of the pants each time so the movement is not fluid.
- Sewing as a whole is confusing — the most crucial aspect of hemming the pants is the area with the most confusion. The angles are not ideal for clarity, and I move too quickly to make the movement easy to follow.
Overall, I was pretty satisfied with the beginning of the video. Hopefully, I can use some of the clips for my final video but I do need to find a pair of neutral shoes for filming. Apart from a few logistical issues such as shoes and air conditioning, I felt this video was a large leap from my last iteration.
REFINING // SHIFTING EMPHASIS AND CONTROL
NOVEMBER 1, 2019
Because renting out the CFA Shooting Studio was difficult to hold for hours at time, I entered the weekend with a plan to shoot my final video with clips at a time. On the first day, I re-filmed the beginning scene with Michael’s plain black boots. This way, I could avoid the distraction of the brand of the shoe.
The black boots provided a much cleaner look than the white converse did in my previous iteration. Additionally, it was easier to have someone model for the video so I would not have to lean down and put the pins on myself.
While I didn’t have much time to film in the studio, I was able to use almost all the clips that I took so overall I was pretty satisfied.
NOVEMBER 3RD, 2019
My second time back at the CFA shooting studio, I had a much larger time reservation so I was able to film the rest of my clips for my final iteration. Although I re-filmed each aspect of the hemming process, I ended up filtering between short clips from my last iteration and this iteration in order to use the best angles and footage.
As my biggest priority and issue with filming the video was the actual aspect, I made sure to take much more footage than I did from my last iteration. This way, I could choose from a wide variety of angles.
FINAL VIDEO
IMPROVEMENTS I MADE // WHAT WORKED:
- From a lighting and visual perspective, moving to the CFA Shooting Studio helped improve the quality significantly
- Distractions were significantly reduced throughout the iterations, including glimpses of brands, backgrounds, etc.
- Although still far from perfect, for the first time ever learning, I feel as though my hemming skills improved each time I filmed a new video :)
- The clips are efficiently cut when compared to the mass amount of footage I had from the original
- I think I was able to successfully convey a sense of story throughout each of the steps, as well as create a point of view that was hopefully clear and relatable
THINGS I COULD HAVE DONE BETTER // WHAT DIDN’T WORK:
- My biggest frustration with my video was the background audio. Although it was much less distracting than the sound of people in the background, the CFA Shooting Studio had an air conditioning noise that could not be turned off or muffled no matter how hard I tried. While I still made the decision to keep the sound and CFA Shooting Studio visuals, the white noise in the back of my video is regrettable.
- I had a lot more trouble with focusing the camera than I thought I would. Although it improved throughout the iterations, the quick movement and zoomed in detail made a consistent focus difficult to obtain.
- The video was quite fast-paced, which is inevitable with a multi-step task like hemming and a one minute time constraint. However, I could have more evenly paced the movements as there are distinctly different paces of flow throughout each clip, which made it feel almost jumpy at certain points.
REFLECTION
Overall, although this project was harder than I expected it to be, I also enjoyed this video project a lot more than I expected to. Watching the videos during critique was always surprisingly entertaining and enjoyable, and it was especially interesting to see what direction other people went in with completely different tasks such as juggling.
Most importantly, I feel as though I became increasingly perceptive to errors and emphasis throughout the project. While this means that it was difficult to find clips and gather a final product that I could be completely satisfied with, it also means that I (hopefully) developed an eye for subtle features of a video such as pacing, clarity, and selection of frames.
Trimming my video forced me to ask myself what parts of hemming were absolutely essential, and asking others which parts of hemming were understandable gave me a new insight on the line between instruction and natural intuition.
