Media Reflection #2

 Prior to this course, I only had experience with using a phone camera and basic photo editing (such as brightness, saturation, shadows, etc.). I paid little mind to photo set up, unless there were people present in the photo, in which case I would sometimes tell them to pose a certain way or move a specific direction. I would also occasionally use rule of thirds if I wanted to make whatever the subject of the photo was stand out. Besides that, I never directly manipulated the way my photos were set up. After being in this course though, I have now many elements to keep in mind, especially if I want to create more of a scene, rather than just simply capturing a moment in time. I believe I have developed very strong skills in regards to setting up a scene, and most of it comes natural to me after choosing the specific mood or feelings I want to elicit. For example, with the photo project that we did, the photo was supposed to have feelings of nostalgia, and a somber mood. I figured a simple way to achieve this was to have the subject show that they were holding on to their childhood, through hairstyle and props. Through editing, I was able to make the colors cooler and have less saturation, which helped give the photo a melancholic mood. This all was a straightforward process for me, and I believe these skills will translate when I create a film opening sequence. However, I will have to familiarize myself with more complex editing software, and different elements of film editing that I don't already have experience with, only having worked with images. Additionallly, I will have to learn how to use a camera, which I have only used once before and have little memory of how it works. Of course, my skills with setting up a scene will have to be developed further, since it won't be just one scene, but many scenes together that I will have to plan out and put thought into, that all have to fit into a single narrative. Overall, I believe I am in a similar place a lot of people taking this course are in, becoming more comfortable with designing scenes, but still having a lot left to learn regarding film editing. 

(Photo I took and edited from my Boston trip over the summer)