14. research

As part of the research I am doing for our new project, I watched a few videos regarding intellectual property to give me ideas on how I can portray the theme in my own video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3HHeyM1KQM
This is a video explaining intellectual property through the views of people from various countries. It discusses the importance of respecting intellectual property right, and the challenges intellectual property is facing. This video expressed the theme of intellectual property well, giving a wide variety of opinions on various issues regarding intellectual property. It was also concise; it was only about 4 minutes long, and I learned quite a lot. I also liked the introduction, which was a creative lead-in into the main topic. However, since my video is only 30 seconds long, I do not have time to make an introduction. Other than the introduction, though, the rest of the video portrayed the theme only through talking and explanations, which made it a bit boring. The camera was also shaky on a few occasions, and should have been put on a tripod. I noticed the background music they played was fitting to the theme. Other than that, though, there was not a lot to comment on in terms of audio.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXAcrqtaOdU
This video focusses more on the emotional aspect of intellectual property rights being violated. It is the story of a poor man who composed a song, only to have it stolen through piracy. Although it is not particularly relevant to this project as it has a very narrow focus point (copyrights in Armenia), there is much to be observed from this video regarding the filming, editing, and sound. It is a much more professionally done video than the previous one, therefore improving the general quality of the sound and filming. There is no use of the spoken word at all in this video, yet it tells the story perfectly clearly. The background music in the beginning, as well as the faded effect done by the camera and dim lighting, creates a poor (not badly done, but poor in terms of poverty) setting for the man, as well as indicating his old age, instantly creating sympathy for him. The choice of sound effects is also good. For example, there is the sound of his footsteps. This sound can be recorded in so many different ways, each creating completely different sounds that could change the mood totally, and choosing the most appropriate way to record a sound can be hard, but it is well done here. The footsteps are slow, measured, and hollow, creating the feel of the man pacing around the house. It is also accompanied by the ticking of the clock later on, farther enhancing the pacing feel. There is a scene of him playing his piece on the piano, and this piece is used as background music for other scenes, therefore making it a form of both diegetic and nondiegetic sound. It is a slow, slightly repetitive piece, with frequent solos that create a feeling of sadness and isolation. The bassline also comes out strong in certain places, creating the feeling of time running out and impending doom on the man. Overall, the two different pieces of background music created a real sense of sympathy for the man within me, and depicted the emotions of the man well, and, on a larger scale, creating sympathy for those whose ideas have been stolen, fulfilling the criteria 'advocate respect for others’ creative efforts' (http://www.myvideocompetition.com/HKenglish/home01.html)